My Demons
by CrimsonAdri
Summary: She kept him sane. She calmed his blood lust and relaxed him. She'd been there in the beginning and promised to stay forever. Even when he pushed her away she kept their promise. /Short Sum I know. Title (and fic) based off "My Demons" by Starset. Gaara/OC (Rating T just in case. Writing this as I go. Mostly K rated though) Hiatus not discontinued.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 **That being said the bit of Lyrics below are from "My Demons" By starset. (I prefer the nightcore version)**

 **Summary: She kept him sane. She calmed his blood lust and relaxed him. She'd been there in the beginning and promised to stay forever. Even when he pushed her away she kept their promise.**

 **Very short summary I know. It's pretty much the song below that goes on to say "You make everything okay…" "You take all of the pain away…" I made the cover photo with a rinmarugames game.**

* * *

 _Mayday! Mayday!  
The ship is slowly sinking  
They think I'm crazy but they don't know the feeling  
They're all around me,  
Circling like vultures  
They wanna break me and wash away my colors  
Wash away my colors_

 _-My Demons - Starset_

"La, la, la, la, la, la, la." Rin sat in the sand petting her stuffed cat. Her long blue pigtails swayed back and forth as she slowly moved her head from side to side while she sang. "La, la, la, la, la, la, la." A group of children, a few years older than Rin, were playing ball about ten feet away. Rin had asked to play with them, like she had every day since moving to Sunagakure, but they like every day before they had said no, called her weird and told her to go away with her 'stupid cat'. Rin figure it was because she was the 'new kid' and hadn't grown up with everyone else. But if that was the case why did that boy sit by himself on the swing every day. Surely he'd grown up there, or was he like her? The other children at least knew his name though. They whispered it in fear when they saw him. Rin didn't understand; the boy looked harmless.

"Hey." Rin opened her bright violet eyes and looked up to see two boys standing in front of her. She blinked up at them and tilted her head in a silent 'yes?' "Gimmie that!" One of the boys suddenly grabbed her stuffed cat. Rin's eyes widened and she quickly got up and tried to get it back. The boy held it high above her head.

"Give her back!" Rin squeaked. The two boys laughed. Rin's lip began to quiver.

"Awe, baby gunna cry?" The other boy teased. Rin lowered her head and brought her sleeves covered hands to her eyes.

"Hey, I thought you guys were playing with us?" A girl called over to the two boys. "Leave the weirdo alone."

"In a minute!" The boy holding the cat called back. "What's wrong? Don't you want it back?" He asked Rin. She nodded. "Then jump for it." Rin sniffled into her hands.

"Hey." The two boys turned to face the familiar voice.

"It's Gaara." The other boy whispered. Gaara was frowning as he clutched his own stuffed animal with his little fists.

"Give it back." He said. The boy holding the cat quickly dropped it and backed up.

"Let's go." He said to the other boy and grabbed his arm before they ran away. Rin sniffled as Gaara walked up to her. He picked up her cat and held it out.

"Here." Gaara said softly with a nervous expression. He was ready for her to run or scream. Rin peeked out from behind her hands and blinked at him. He blinked back. She reached out to grab her stuffed cat and hugged it tightly with her eyes closed. Gaara had a little smile on his face. Rin opened her eyes and smiled at him making him blink.

"Thank you." She said.

"Y-You're welcome." He said quietly as he looked down at his feet, holding his bear to him. Rin leaned over and pecked his cheek. Gaara let out a tiny gasp as his head snapped up and stared at her with wide eyes.

"Mommy does that when papa does something nice for her." Rin explained. Gaara nodded and looked away as his cheeks turned pink. "My name's Rin." She added quietly. Gaara looked at her.

"I'm Gaara."

"Why don't you play with the other kids?"

"They don't like me."

"Why not? You're nice." Rin said with a smile. Gaara gave a small shrug. "Do you wanna come to my house for dinner?" Gaara blinked in surprise.

"Really?"

"Of course!" Rin said with a small giggle. Gaara smiled.

"Okay!"

"Come on!" Rin grabbed his hand making his eyes widen as she started to pull him along.

* * *

Gaara's face was bright pink as the two walked through the village. Rin hadn't let go of his hand as they walked to her house. She told him about her moving the month before because of her dad's work. Her mother painted and her older brother was in the ninja academy. She asked if he was going to enter the academy when he was older and that she didn't know if she wanted to. When he told her he planned on enrolling she got excited.

"If you're gunna be a ninja I wanna be one too!" She said with a big grin. Gaara smiled.

"Okay, we'll be ninja together."

"I hope we're in the same class."

"Me too." Gaara said shyly.

"Rin!" The two looked to see an older boy, with blue hair that matched Rin's, standing in the doorway of a house.

"That's my brother!" Rin said to Gaara. The two walked up to him. "Big brother this is-" Rin's brother ignored her and pulled her into the house. "Kenta!" Rin squeaked as he closed the door. Gaara's eyes were wide and he heard yelling behind the door. He frowned and looked down at his feet. Of course, even if Rin wasn't afraid of him her family had to be. He was sure they didn't even know why they should be scared unless they were told about him. Gaara let out a sigh and started to leave. "Gaara!" Gaara looked up and saw Rin climbing out an upper window. She let out a squeak, and Gaara's eyes widened, as she lost her grip.

"Rin!" He reached his hand out and the sand around him shot up to catch her. The sand lowered her to the ground slowly. Gaara lowered his head. Now he'd done it. She'd definitely be afraid of him now, just like everyone else.

"That was so cool!" Rin squeaked. Gaara blinked and looked at her. She was still sitting on the ground but she was smiling. "How'd you do that?" She asked as she got up and ran up to him. Gaara stared at her.

"Uh…"

"Can you teach me to do that?" She asked as she grabbed his arm. "Please Gaara!" He blinked at her.

"You're not afraid of me?" He asked. Rin tilted her head.

"Huh? Why would I be afraid of you? You're so cool!" Gaara felt a smile tug at his lips. "Hey, you wanna go back to the park?" Gaara nodded and couldn't hold back a smile as Rin took his hand again.

* * *

The two sat on the swings, their joined hands between them.

"I'm sorry about my brother." Rin said looking down at her lap. "He can be a jerk sometimes." Gaara didn't say anything. "I don't think people should be afraid of you just because you're different." He looked at her. "I think it's really cool that you can move sand. I wish you'd teach me."

"I told you, I don't know how I do it." Gaara said.

"Yeah yeah, you just wanna keep your awesome powers to yourself." Rin said with a pout. The two laughed quietly.

" _My_ brother just ignores me." Gaara said.

"You have a brother too?" Rin asked.

"Mhm, and a sister."

"I've always wanted a sister."

"She ignores me too."

"That's not nice." Rin said. Gaara shook his head. "You're nice." Gaara looked at her with a little smile.

"You're nice too." He said looking down at his lap as his cheeks went pink. Rin giggled.

"You're my first ever friend." She said.

"You're _my_ first ever friend too." Gaara said.

"Hey Gaara?"

"Yes Rin?" He looked at her.

"Let's be friends forever, kay?" Rin said with a growing smile.

"Friends… forever?" Gaara blinked as a smile was tugging on his lips as well.

"Mhm. We'll _always_ be there for each other." Rin said. "No matter what." Gaara smiled.

"Okay." He said.

* * *

 **I just love little Gaara and love the idea of him having a friend as a child. This will be a romance story but obviously not until much later. If anyone's interested I also have another Naruto fic that's mainly a Naruto/OC but does have a bit of Gaara/OC in it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 **WoNdErLaNd-Chaser: Of course! Love the username btw**

 **UmiNight Angel Neko: I respect otps even if I don't like them but in this case I like Naruhina as a ship.**

 **NekoChiHiro: I know right! I love writing these cute scenes. I have a lot more to come too.**

 **I'm gunna use other songs later, don't worry just starting with a bunch from this one song cause it fits the fic the most. Glad everyone's liking this btw.  
Thank you to everyone who hit follow, favorite and review. Means a lot to me! ^_^**

 **Oh I wanted to clarify. Gaara is 6 in this (currently) and Rin is younger than him by a few months. I think when the whole assassin thing happens Gaara is around 7 or 8 if not that's how it's gunna be age wise.**

* * *

 _Take me high and I'll sing  
Oh you make everything okay, okay, okay  
'Kay, Okay, Okay_

 _-My Demons - Starset_

"Gaara!" Rin called. Gaara looked over as she ran towards him with her stuffed cat tied around her neck so it flowed behind her like a cat-cape. She giggled as she sat down on the swing next to him and he smiled before looking down shyly at his bear in his lap. "How are you?" Rin asked.

"I'm okay." Gaara said. "How are you?" he asked glancing over at her.

"Great!" Rin said as she kicked her legs to start swinging. Gaara smiled.

"What do you wanna do today?" he asked.

"Hmm…" Rin hummed as she leg her feet skid in the sand to stop her swinging. "Let's build a sand castle!" Gaara smiled.

"Okay." The two got off the swings and Gaara put his bear where he'd been before the two got on the ground in front of the swings.

"Wait, we'll need water to make the sand stay." Rin said with a frown. "Oh if only there was some way we could still make a sand castle. If only one of us had magic sand powers." She said dramatically. Gaara giggled. "That he refuses to teach the other." Rin added quietly before sticking out her tongue with a giggle. Gaara stuck his tongue out at her making the two start laughing. Gaara held his hand out and the sand moved up shakily and started to form a square but soon crumbled. "Awe."

"I'm sorry." Gaara said as he looking down at his hands with a frown. "I'm still figuring it out."

"It's okay." Rin said with a smile. She turned her head and her face under his to look up at him. He gasped and fell back with wide eyes. Rin started giggling again which made Gaara start giggling as well. Rin suddenly tackled Gaara in a hug making him yelp but start laughing as the two rolled on the ground. They ended up on their backs next to each other as their giggling faded. Rin's hand found Gaara's and held it making Gaara close his eyes and smile. A thought popped into his head and he quickly sat up and looked down at Rin.

"Do you wanna meet my uncle?" he asked. Rin sat up.

"Your uncle?"

"Yeah." Gaara said nodding with a smile.

"What about your mom and dad?" Rin asked. Gaara's smiled faltered.

"Um… I don't have a mom." He said quietly.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Rin said with a frown. Gaara shook his head. "And… your dad?" Gaara looked down into his lap.

"He… he doesn't like me." Gaara glanced at Rin since she'd been quiet for a while and his eyes widened when he saw her lip quivering and her eyes watering. "D-Don't cry! What did I do?" Rin sniffled and suddenly hugged him.

"I'm sorry." She whimpered.

"Don't cry, Rin." Gaara said hugging her back. "My uncle's really nice. You'll like him." Rin sniffled again and moved back. Gaara stood and held out a hand for her. "Come on. I'd really like you to meet him." Rin nodded and took his hand.

* * *

"Uncle." Gaara pushed open the door and walked inside. This time he was leading Rin by the hand. His uncle turned around and smiled when he saw Gaara but looked surprised when he saw Rin.

"Gaara." His uncle said. "Who's this?"

"This is Rin! She's my friend." Gaara said with a smile. Rin hid behind Gaara shyly, holding onto his shirt with her other hand. "It's okay, he's nice." Rin peeked out from behind him.

"Hello mister Gaara's uncle sir." Rin said quietly.

"Hello." Yashamaru smiled at her. "Your family just moved here, right?" Rin nodded.

"Yes sir."

"Please, call me Yashamaru." he said with a smile.

"Okay Mr. Yashamaru." Rin said. He chuckled. Gaara smiled and looked back at Rin.

"Hey, you wanna sleep over?" he asked. Rin blinked. Gaara turned to his uncle. "Can she? Please?" Yashamaru blinked.

"If it's alright with her parents I don't see why not." He said.

"Yeah, we already asked them." Rin said.

"Really?" Yashamaru asked.

"Uh-huh." Rin said nodding but not looking at him. Yashamaru looked at Gaara who nodded.

"Yeah we asked them." He said. Yashamaru sighed.

"Alright, if you two say so." He said. The two grinned and Rin hugged Gaara who started to blush. Yashamura couldn't help but smile at the sight.

* * *

"You think your parents will be mad?" Gaara asked as he and Rin sat criss-cross on his bed facing each other.

"Probably." Rin said. "But I don't care." She said crossing her arms. Gaara frowned and looked down. "I wanna stay with you." Gaara peeked up at her with a shy smile. She grinned at him. Suddenly she gasped and pointed behind him. "Gaara, what's that?!" Gaara's eyes widened and he whirled around. When he didn't see anything he frowned.

"I don't see any-Woah!" Rin suddenly tackled him and started to tickle him. "H-Hey!" He laughed. Rin giggled as he tried to squirm away from her wiggling fingers. Yashamura opened the bedroom door and knocked on the door frame with a smile. The two stopped to look at him but were still grinning and giggling under their breath.

"Time for bed, you two." Yashamura said with a chuckle.

"Okay." They said. Gaara grabbed his bear and Rin grabbed her cat before they crawled under the covers of Gaara's bed.

"Night you two."

"G'Night!" The two called. Yashamura chuckled before closing the door. Rin giggled and poked Gaara in the side.

"Rin." He whined with a slight giggle. "Go to sleep." He whispered.

"Okay." Rin said before rolling onto her side to face him. He rolled over and faced her too. They smiled and giggled quietly before closing their eyes.

"Hey Rin?" Gaara asked quietly. Rin opened her eyes but Gaara still had his closed.

"Yeah?" Rin asked closing her eyes again.

"Do you promise you'll always be my friend?" He whispered. Rin giggled.

"I already said we'd be friends forever." She whispered back.

"But we didn't promise." Gaara said opening his eyes. "Do you promise?" Rin opened her eyes and smiled at him.

"I promise. Forever and always." She said. Gaara smiled.

"Forever and always."

* * *

 **I love writing all this cute stuff! I have so many cute ideas for scenes! I know this is short again, sorry. Thanks for reading! ^_^**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 **SNicole25: I have that all planned out. Don't worry.**

 **Just FYI: I use line breaks and the "..." but not interchangeably. I try to only use "..." when the next scene is part of the same topic as the one before and only a little time as gone by. With line breaks it's more of a subject change _and/or_ a time skip greater than a few minutes. **

* * *

_We are one in the same  
Oh you take all of the pain away, away, away  
'Way, away, away  
Save me if I become  
My demons_

 _-My Demons –Starset_

Yashamaru found himself smiling as he closed the door to Gaara's bedroom. It soon faded when he realized he'd have to explain to Rin's parents where she was. It didn't take him long to find where she lived. It was the only house that had been for sale at the time Rin's family moved. Yashamaru knocked on the door and waited.

"Rin?" A woman asked as she opened the door. She looked a bit surprised to see him their instead of her daughter.

"Mrs…?" Yashamaru realized he didn't know Rin's last name. "You're Rin's mother, yes?"

"Yes. Is she alright?" The woman asked with wide eyes.

"She's fine, she's fine." Yashamaru quickly reassured her. "She made friends with my nephew and he hasn't had a real friend in a while. I hope it's alright if Rin stays the night with us. I haven't seen him this happy in a long time." Rin's mother smiled.

"Rin didn't tell me she made a friend. Who's your nephew?" She asked. Yashamaru hesitated.

"Gaara." The woman's eyes widened. Yashamaru held up his hands before she could respond. "Please, I know you may have heard about him," she nodded with a frown. Yashamaru shook his head. "He's really a kind and gentle kid. It's what's inside him that's bad but it's not _him_. Rin is his first ever friend because everyone is so afraid of him they don't give him a chance. But I know Gaara; he would never intentionally harm her. She's safe with him and I'm there to watch them."

"You're not there now." She pointed out.

"They're asleep." Yashamaru said. "Please, Mrs.…"

"Hayashi."

"Mrs. Hayashi, even after only two days I can tell having her as a friend means the world to him and he'd never jeopardize that friendship." Mrs. Hayashi bit her bottom lip. "Please."

"I'll… I'll send her brother to bring her home in the morning." She said with a nod.

"Thank you."

* * *

The next morning Rin's brother, Kenta, knocked on the door very early. Yashamaru, who was always an early riser, answered the door.

"Where's my sister?" Kenta asked.

"You must be Rin's brother." Yashamaru said with a smile. Kenta had a straight face.

"Where's my sister?" Yashamaru's smiled faltered slightly.

"I'll go get her." he said. "Please come in." Kenta walked in but waited close to the door. Yashamaru walked down a hallway and returned with a sleepy Rin a few moments later. Gaara peeked out from behind the wall. Kenta frowned and avoided looking at him. He grabbed Rin's wrist and pulled her outside making her wake up fully. Gaara gasped and ran to stand in the doorway. Rin looked back at him and smiled.

"I'll see you later at the swings, Gaara!" She called back to him as she waved with her cat in her hand. Gaara waved back and nodded with a small smile on his face.

* * *

"Your brother doesn't like me." Gaara said with a frown as he rocked on the swing slowly.

"He's just being a butt." Rin said making Gaara giggle. "I'm sure if he got to know you he'd think you're as cool as I do!" She said with a grin. Gaara's face went pink and he smiled down at his bear shyly.

"Do you wanna sleep over again some time?" He asked.

"Sure!" Rin said with a big smile. She suddenly hopped off the swing and tapped Gaara's shoulder. "Tag you're it!" She said before running away.

"Huh?" Gaara blinked before getting up and running after her. "No fair, Rin!" He laughed with a grin as he chased the giggling girl.

* * *

The next time Rin went to Gaara's was the week after and she brought some finger paints that her mother bought for her. Yashamaru helped them set up a table with a cloth so they wouldn't get paint on the wood and a stack of paper for them to use. Since they didn't have grass in Suna, most of their pictures consisted of blue skies and tan sands.

"Boop." Gaara blinked and looked down cross-eyed at the blue paint on his nose. Gaara looked at the giggling Rin and smirked.

"Boop." Rin looked at the blue on her own nose then playfully glared at the snickering Gaara.

...

Yashamaru walked into the kitchen where to two had been painting and sighed with a smile when he saw the two of them were covered head to toe in coloured hand prints. The two saw him and started giggling.

"You do know you'll have to take a bath now, don't you?" The two stopped giggling and looked from him to each other with wide eyes.

"Run!" Rin shouted. They both jumped up and ran for the door.

"Oh no you don't." Yashamaru said as he scooped up Gaara under one arm as he ran by.

"Gaara!" Run shouted.

"Save yourself, Rin!" Gaara shouted reaching out to her.

"No, Gaara!" Rin shouted back also reaching out.

"You two are so dramatic." Yashamaru said rolling his eyes as he scooped up Rin under his other arm. The two looked at each other from behind his back and giggled.

...

Gaara and Rin sat with their backs facing each other and their knees to their chests in the bathtub. They whined as Yashamaru poured water over their heads.

"Next time you should keep the paint on the paper." Yashamaru said with an amused smile. He got some shampoo and started to wash Gaara's hair. Gaara let out a tiny gasp and swatted his hands away. Yashamaru blinked.

"I-I can do it myself!" He said as his face went pink. Rin giggled and Gaara's face became redder. Yashamaru chuckled and handed the shampoo to Rin.

"Alright. I'll be right back with towels. Don't start a soap or water fight while I'm gone." The two nodded and Yashamaru left.

"I'm sorry about painting your nose." Rin said.

"It's okay. I'm sorry about painting _your_ nose." Gaara said.

"It's okay." Rin said. "When I'm a ninja I'll be able to dodge any paint you throw at me." Gaara chuckled.

"Well, when _I'm_ a ninja I'll be able to paint you without you even noticing."

"I'll paint a smiley face on your forehead." Rin said with a giggle.

"Then I'll give you another blue nose." Gaara laughed. The two were still giggling when Yashamaru returned with the towels.

* * *

Gaara walked into the kitchen and saw Yashamaru making dinner. Gaara tugged on the side of Yashamaru's shirt.

"Have you seen Rin?" he asked. Yashamaru turned to look down at him. "We're playing hide and seek." Gaara explained.

"No, I haven't." Yashamaru said. Giggling could be heard coming from the cabinet under the sink. The two smiled.

"I _was_ gunna ask her if she wanted to have some ice cream with me." Gaara said loudly as Yashamaru tried to hold back a smile. "I guess if I can't find her I'll have to eat her share." He said with a shrug.

"No!" Rin popped out of the cabinet with wide eyes. Gaara chuckled and his uncle tried to hold back his laughter. "Hey! You did that on purpose!" Rin said pointing at Gaara before pouting. "No fair." Gaara grinned. "Do we still get ice cream?" Rin asked. They both looked at Yashamaru with sweet smiles. He chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah!" The two cheered with a high-fived.

* * *

 **I love writing all these cute scenes. I'm working on chapter five now. Thanks for the reviews, follows and favorites!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 **SNicole25: Yeah I know Suna doesn't have an academy until later but I needed one for this whole thing to work so I'm changing it. Instead the Sand Sibs are going to be just teaching their own new class when that time comes. The academy won't be like Naruto's where they have to actually do things during classes like practice jutsus. It's more of just a learning about chakra, strategies, etc. then training on your own time kinda thing.** **ALSO** **(didn't put this in the PM but I found this) on the wikia it says "academy grad. Age 12" so maybe they do have one, idk.**

 ** **Fujoshi . Empress** : Of course ^_^ (The "." in your username is seen as a link by FF so I added a space between the words and the dot.) **

**KHandFF7fanforever: lol glad you like it.**

 **ButterfliesInTheSkies: I stay up reading fics too.**

 **Working on Chapter 9 and 10 now.**

* * *

 _I cannot stop this sickness taking over  
It takes control and drags me into nowhere  
I need your help, I can't fight this forever_

 _…_

 _I need a savior to heal my pain  
When I become my worst enemy  
The enemy_

 _-My Demons - Starset_

Gaara and Rin sat at the kitchen table as Yashamaru took a tray of cookies out of the oven.

"Let these cool, okay?" Yashamaru looked at the two who nodded. "Okay. I'll be right back." He said before he left the room. Rin hopped off her chair and Gaara frowned.

"Yashamaru said to wait." he said.

"I'm not gunna take one." Rin said. "I just wanna look at them." Gaara continued to frown and hopped off his chair. Rin went on her toes and inhaled deeply. "I love cookies."

"Me too." Gaara said going on his toes so he could see them too. "Yashamaru makes the best."

"I'm gunna make you cookies one day." Gaara looked over at her as she smiled at him. "Well when I can use an oven." She moved her hand slightly but just enough for it to touch the still burning hot tray. Rin let out a small scream and Gaara gasped.

Yashamaru heard Rin's scream and dropped the basket of laundry he was carrying to run to the kitchen.

"What happened?" he gasped. Gaara looked over at him. The two were standing by the sink on a small stool, Gaara holding Rin's hand under the water while her other hand wiped away some tears. Yashamaru frowned. "I told you two to wait."

"We weren't trying to take one; we were just looking." Gaara said. Yashamaru sighed and opened a nearby cabinet to get a med-kit. Gaara turned off the water and let Yashamaru take care of Rin's hand. As Yashamaru put the med-kit away the two moved back to the table. Gaara was frowning as he stared at Rin's bandaged hand.

"Does it hurt?" Gaara asked as he lifted his head to look at her.

"A little." Rin said quietly. "I'll ask mom to kiss it better later." she said. Yashamaru turned to them and smiled as he saw Gaara take Rin's hand and kiss her bandage.

"Better?" Gaara asked. Rin's cheeks were pink as she smiled at him.

"Mhm. Thanks Gaara." Gaara smiled back.

* * *

Yashamaru walked into the kitchen the next morning to see Gaara at the table with a bunch of crumbled pieces of paper, that had been coloured with blue scribbles, all around him as he had his head down on the table.

"Gaara?" Yashamaru asked putting a hand on Gaara's back. Gaara lifted his head with a frown. "What's all this?" Yashamaru picked up a ball of paper.

"I saw a paper flower in the window of a shop. I wanted to make one for Rin." He lowered his head again and his voice was muffled against the table. "But I can't figure it out." Yashamaru smiled.

"Would you like me to help you?" Gaara lifted his head as his eyes lit up.

"Yes please!" Yashamaru chuckled and nodded.

"Alright." Yashamaru picked up a piece of not crumbled paper and Gaara grabbed the blue crayon that had only about an inch left. "I think I might have some blue paper somewhere." Gaara grinned.

"Can I borrow some?"

"I'll give you a few pieces." Yashamaru said with a nod.

"Thanks Yashamaru!"

...

"Gaara!" Rin shouted while waving as Gaara walked up to her on the swing. "What took you so long?" She asked with a playful pout. Gaara bit his lip and held out a blue origami flower. Rin blinked and smiled. "Did you make this?" she asked. Gaara nodded.

"Yashamaru helped me." he said quietly as she took it from his palm.

"It's so pretty!" Rin squeaked before kissing his cheek. Gaara smiled as his cheeks went pink.

"It matches your hair." he said. Rin giggled.

"Now I wanna make you one."

"Yashamaru has coloured paper he let me use. I'm sure he'd let you use some." Rin grinned and grabbed Gaara's hand before running back towards the village excitedly. "Whoa!"

 **…**

Gaara watched Yashamaru show Rin how to make the flower before giving her a piece of blue paper. Rin shook her head and cupped her hand around her mouth to whisper to him. Yashamaru smiled and Gaara tilted his head curiously as Yashamaru sifted through the colours of paper before pulling out a piece of red paper. Rin smiled and started to make the flower. It took a few attempts but she finally finished it and held it out to Gaara.

"It matches your hair." She said with a smile. His cheeks went pink as he took it.

"Thanks." he said quietly. He glanced at Rin shyly as she giggled.

* * *

"Tag you're it!" Rin called before running away from the swings. Gaara hopped off his swing, leaving his bear and Rin's cat to swing while he chased after her with a smile. There were a few other kids playing their own game. Rin looked back to see how far away Gaara was and before she could look back she tripped over her own two feet and hit the sand with a yelp. Gaara gasped and froze. Rin cradled her bleeding knee as tears came to her eyes. The other kids stopped playing their game when they heard Rin's yelp.

"I think Gaara tripped her." One of the kids whispered to the group.

"He's so scary." A girl whimpered. Gaara's eyes widened and he shook his head.

"No! I-I didn't hurt her! I swear!" Gaara said. Rin frowned and stood up. The kids all looked at her. She gripped the bottom of her shirt and leaned on her good leg.

"Gaara would never hurt me! So… So shut up!" She shouted before sniffling and wiping her nose on her sleeve.

"Let's get outta here." The kids all ran away and Gaara watched them sadly before running to Rin.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly. Rin let herself fall back and held onto her leg as the tears started to flow freely. Gaara frowned. He helped her stand again and put one of her arms around his shoulders while he put one around hers.

…

When they found Yashamaru, in the kitchen, Rin had stopped crying and was walking better but the blood had trickled down her leg and started to dry making it look a lot worse than it was.

"What happened?" Yashamaru asked. He looked to Gaara who was frowning.

"We were playing and I tripped." Rin said. Yashamaru picked her up and sat her on the counter. Gaara stood next to her and took her hand. She smiled at him and he smile sadly back.

"You have to be more careful." Yashamaru said to Rin. "You always seem to be getting hurt." Rin frowned.

"I'm sorry." she said. He finished cleaning and wrapping her knee and put everything away. When he turned back Rin was giggling as Gaara kissed her knee. He smiled up at her.

"Does it still hurt?" he asked.

"Nu-uh." She hopped down off the counter and hugged him. "Thanks Gaara!" Gaara's face went pink and he smiled as he hugged her back.

…

About ten minutes after the two left Yashamaru was cleaning up in the kitchen when he heard two sets of feet and sniffling. He turned to see Gaara and Rin, holding hands, Rin crying silently. She lowered her other hand from her eye and revealed with a scrape on her chin. Yashamaru sighed and took out the med-kit.

* * *

Gaara stood in front of a photo of his mother, trying to stab his hand with a knife.

"It doesn't matter what I do. The sand just gets in the way." Gaara said looking at the sand.

"Gaara."

"Yashamaru!" Gaara gasped, turning to see his uncle in the doorway. Yashamaru walked over.

"As a member of the medical corps, our leader the lord Kazekage has asked that I see to your safety and well being personally. Please Gaara; it hurts me to see you do that." Gaara looked down. "Although I suppose that the sand would protect you anyway."

"Yashamaru?" Gaara asked.

"What's the matter?" Yashamaru asked.

"What does pain feel like?"

"Hm?"

"You see, I've never actually been injured before and I was wondering what it was like. Rin gets hurt all the time. I want to know what she feels."

"Hm. How can I put it? It's… very difficult or maybe upsetting's what I mean. It's like, when someone is struck or cut it's a feeling that's very hard to take. When you're hurt you don't feel normal. I'm not explaining it very well. Basically it's a situation you wanna avoid if at all possible."

"Yashamaru?" Gaara asked.

"Yes?"

"Do you… do you not like me Yashamaru, like the others?" Gaara asked looking down.

"Everyone goes through their lives hurting others and being hurt, but it's not so easy for us to hate one another." Gaara's face brightened and he smiled.

"Thanks a lot, Yashamaru." Gaara said. "That helped, I think I kinda understand what pain is now."

"I see."

"I think I might be hurting too, just like everyone else. I'm always in pain." He put a hand over his heart. "I know I'm not bleeding, but lately I've felt a lot of pain here." He gripped his shirt. Yashamaru took the knife from Gaara and slit his own finger. Gaara gasped and his eyes widened.

"Wound your body and the blood will flow fast following the heels of pain, but as time passes the pain eventually fades away. With the help of medicine it can heal even faster, but even more dangerous is a wound dealt to the heart." He put his other hand over his heart. "Cause there's nothing that has more trouble healing."

"A wound to the heart?" Gaara asked.

"Wounds to the heart are a little different from wounds of the flesh. Unlike an injury to the body there is no medicine for a wounded heart, and sometimes it never heals." Gaara looked down and put his hand over his heart and gripped his shirt again. "But don't worry, there is _one_ thing that _can_ mend a broken heart." Gaara looked up with a gasp. "But it's a very complicated remedy. It can only be administered to you by another person." Yashamaru said looking at the picture of his sister.

"So then, what am I supposed to do?" Gaara asked. He noticed Yashamaru looking at the picture and turned to look as well.

"There's one thing that can heal the heart. Only one." He looked back at Gaara. "It's love, Gaara."

"Love?"

"You've got it."

"But, but how am I supposed to get rid of it?" Gaara asked with wide eyes. "What is it I have to do to get rid of this pain?"

"Don't you know, Gaara? It has already been given to you."

"Huh?" Yashamaru looked at the picture again and Gaara turned his head as well.

"Love is the heart's desire to serve someone precious to you to watch over them, to care for them. Like my sister did for you. There's _no_ question that my older sister _always_ loved you _._ Sukaku the sand spirit is a living soul bent towards the purpose of war. The sand automatically rushes to protect you, just like the love of a mother. I believe your mother's will's carried in every grain of that sand. My sister, even after death, wants more than anything to protect you." Gaara looked at Yashamaru.

"Yashamaru?" he asked. Yashamaru turned his head to look back at Gaara.

"Huh? What is it Gaara?"

"Thank you for all of your help. You know, for stopping me before."

"You're very welcome. After all, you're special Gaara, I hold you very dear to me." Yashamaru said with his finger in his mouth. Gaara walked forward and took Yashamaru's hand. He held it for a moment before putting the bleeding finger in his mouth for a few second.

"It tastes like iron." Gaara said as he lowered Yashamaru's hand. Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

"That must be Rin for your sleep over." Yashamaru said with a smile as he stood. Gaara's face lit up.

"Yashamaru!" Yashamaru stopped and turned to Gaara. "W-Whenever I'm around Rin," He put a hand over his heart again but didn't grip his shirt. "The pain goes away. Is… Is that because of love too?" Yashamaru stared for a moment, his mouth open, then smiled.

"Let me ask you this: Whenever _Rin's_ hurt," Gaara frowned.

"The pain comes back." Gaara said softly. "I don't like to see her hurting cause it makes me hurt." He gripped his shirt. He suddenly gasped with wide eyes and looked up at Yashamaru. "Is that because of love? You said it's the heart's desire to serve someone precious to you to watch over them and care for them. Rin is… Rin is precious to me." Gaara said with a small smile. Yashamaru watched him, his mouth slightly open. "I want to watch over her and protect her." Yashamaru smiled.

"That's love Gaara."

* * *

 **I originally was going to use this scene at the same point in the time line as it is in the show. (meaning this same night is when Gaara would be attacked after bringing the girl medicine then walking home and going to the roof. Remember the whole getting the ball and hurting that kid didn't happen though.) It's not exactly spoilers (well in a way it is) but I just don't want people to think the cute ends here. This chapter was just getting a bit long so I wanted it to end with that perfect line. Lol.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 **Posting another chapter so soon to reply to a review.**

 **SNicole25: Well in chapter 8 they're two years older than they are now. (They're 5/6 now in case I never said so before) I'm planning on showing them growing up, I'm not going to just skip to 12/13. I'm sorry it's taking so long but I'm putting the song parts to match the "theme" of the chapter so that's why some are a lot shorter than others and why there's so many and there's still some development I have to show with other characters in later chapters. I'm sorry it's taking so long. =(**

* * *

 _I will never let you fall  
I'll stand up with you forever  
I'll be there for you through it all  
Even if saving you sends me to heaven_

 _-Your Guardian Angel - Red Jumpsuit Apparatus_

Yashamaru opened the door and Rin smiled up at him.

"Good evening, Yashamaru." She said. Yashamaru smiled.

"Good evening, Rin. Gaara's-"

"Rin!" Gaara ran up to them with a big smile.

"Hey Gaara. I brought my colouring book and crayons." She said holding them up.

"Awesome!"

"Don't stay up too late now." Yashamaru said with a chuckle.

"We won't." They said. Gaara took Rin's hand and they headed to his room. Yashamaru heard the door close and smiled when he heard the two giggling.

* * *

"Gaara!" Rin called.

"Yeah?" Gaara asked as he walked into the kitchen. He blinked when he saw her standing on top of one of the chairs. "What are you doing up there?" he asked. Rin pointed at the floor. Gaara looked and saw a little spider on the ground. He looked back up at Rin. "It's a spider." He said tilting his head.

"I don't like spiders." Rin whimpered. "They're creepy crawly." She said with a shutter. Gaara looked back at the spider and a determined look came over his face before he started to walk over to it. The spider moved one inch towards him and Gaara was suddenly standing on the chair with Rin.

"Yashamaru!" They shouted as they held each other.

 **…**

"I told you, I double checked for any spiders." Yashamaru said holding back a smile. The two refused to go to bed until he'd checked Gaara's room.

"Maybe you should triple check." Rin whimpered.

"There are no spiders." Yashamaru said. "You two have to get to bed." The two looked at each other then nodded.

"Okay." Gaara said. The two went inside Gaara's room, Rin looking all around the walls, before they got into the bed.

"Good night, you two."

"Good night, Yashamaru." They said. Yashamaru smiled before he turned the lights off. After a few moments Rin nudged Gaara's side.

"Hey Gaara?" she whispered.

"Yeah?"

"I'm too scared to go to sleep."

"Yashamaru double checked."

"I know but…"

"Don't worry." Gaara said with a smile. "If there are any in here I'll protect you." He said with a determined face. Rin smiled back.

"Okay."

…

Gaara stared up at the ceiling of his room hoping no spiders would attack them in the middle of the night. Rin was asleep beside him; one hand was holding her stuffed cat while the other gripped the side of Gaara's shirt. Gaara felt her grip tighten and heard her whimper softly. He looked down at her with a frown.

"Rin?" He whispered. She was still asleep but made another whimper making Gaara frown even more. "Rin wake up." Gaara reached over to shake her shoulder slightly. "Rin." She woke with a gasp and immediately tears were flowing down her face. Gaara sat the two of them up and pulled her to him. She hugged him tightly as he rubbed her back. She shook against him as she cried into his shoulder. "It was just a dream." He whispered. "Don't worry; I'll protect you."

…

Yashamaru was reading in his room when he heard the microwave turn on in the kitchen. He frowned and looked at the clock before sighing and getting up. He walked down to the kitchen and peeked in. Rin was sitting at the kitchen table holding her stuffed cat and Gaara's bear. Gaara put some cookies in front of her before getting the glass of milk he had put in the microwave. He put it beside the cookies and climbed up into the chair next to Rin. He picked up a cookie and held it out to her. She took it silently and started to nibble on it as he rubbed her back. Yashamaru smiled before returning to his room.

* * *

Gaara and Rin held hands as they walked behind Yashamaru through the store. Rin had begged her mother for a shopping list so she could go with them so her mother had written out a short list of four items and enough money to get them. People in the store gave Rin weird looks but she ignored them and talked quietly to Gaara. When it was time to pay, Rin tugged on Yashamaru's shirt and held up the money her mother gave her. He smiled down at her and took it. Gaara and Rin insisted on carrying the bags so Yashamaru carried the heavy bags and let them carry the lighter ones. As they were walking through the village something caught Rin's eye and she stopped walking, since Gaara was still holding her hand he stopped too. Gaara followed her eyes to see she was looking at a small jewelry box with a little key in the window of a store.

"Rin. Gaara." Yashamaru had noticed the two weren't right behind him anymore and was stopped a few feet away.

"Oh. Sorry!" Rin said with a sheepish smile. "Come on, Gaara." Gaara nodded but as they started to follow Yashamaru again he looked back at the box in the window.

* * *

"You want to make what?" Yashamaru asked.

"A box for Rin." Gaara said. "With a key to open it. She told me her birthday is in a month so I wanted to get her something."

"I'm sure I could buy one you could-"

"No! I have to make it or it won't be as special." Gaara said. Yashamaru smiled.

"Alright. I'll help you." he said. Gaara smiled.

…

Gaara ran up to Rin on the swings and stood in front of her.

"Close your eyes and hold out your hands." he said. Rin blinked in confusion. Gaara looked at her expectantly and she closed her eyes before holding out her hands together. Gaara dropped something in her hand with a smile.

"Can I open my eyes?"

"Uh-huh." Rin opened her eyes and blinked at the key in her hand.

"A key?" Gaara nodded. "What's it for?"

"A present." Gaara said.

"But what does it open?" Rin asked. Gaara laughed.

"No, I mean it opens a present." he said. Rin blinked at him. "You get it at the end of the month." Rin gasped with a smile.

"My birthday's at the end of the month!" she said. Gaara nodded.

"Mhm." Rin jumped off the swing and hugged him. Gaara smiled. "Oh, Yashamaru told me to bring this too." Gaara reached into his pocket and pulled out a small necklace chain. "So you don't lose it."

"I'll never lose it." Rin said taking the chain and putting the key on it. She clasped the chain and slipped it over her head. Gaara smiled as Rin smiled down at the key.

"Do you want me to push you on the swing?" Gaara asked.

"Sure! Then I'll push for you."

"Okay."

* * *

 **I'm going to post another chapter tomorrow to make this go faster. I'm sorry it's taking so long to get to them being older.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 **SNicole25: No she won't take away** ** _every_** **problem, don't worry. Also in case anyone was wondering Gaara doesn't sleep just like in canon, even thought I put things like them having sleepovers. Obviously Gaara stays awake the whole night.**

* * *

 _It's so hard  
To find someone  
Who cares about you  
But it's easy enough to find  
Someone who looks down on you_

 _-Someone Who Cares – Three Days Grace_

Gaara and Rin laid on the roof sharing a blanket as they looked up at the stars.

"Hey Gaara?"

"Yeah Rin?"

"Do you think we'll still be doing stuff like this in… 10 years?"

"We said friends forever, didn't we?" Gaara asked turning his head to look at her, his eyes wide. Rin nodded.

"I know, we'll still be friends, but do you think we'll do stuff like this? Looking at the stars when we should be in bed?"

"Hmm.. In ten years.. I'll be..." He counted on his fingers. "16. You'll be 15."

"Nu-uh, I'll be 16 too. I'm only a few months younger than you."

"I don't see why we wouldn't do things like this." Gaara said with a shrug. Rin hugged him and put her head on his shoulder.

"You're my best friend in the whole universe." She said.

"Forever and always." Gaara whispered as he hugged her back.

* * *

Gaara came home one day and sat down in the kitchen with a sigh.

"What's wrong?" Yashamaru asked.

"Rin didn't show up today." Gaara said. "She's always there." His eyes widened. "What if something happened?" He quickly got out of the chair and grabbed Yashamaru's hand. "We have to go see if she's okay!"

"Gaara, I'm sure she's fine." Yashamaru said. "But we'll go check on her if you want to." Gaara nodded before pulling his uncle from the room.

…

Yashamaru knocked on the door of the Hayashi house. Mrs. Hayashi opened the door and smiled when she saw Yashamaru. She glanced down and saw Gaara peeking out from behind Yashamaru's legs.

"Is Rin okay?" He asked. "She didn't show up today." Mrs. Hayashi smiled slightly.

"Rin's sick in bed." she said. Gaara's eyes widened and he gasped.

"I'm sorry; it's all my fault." he said. Mrs. Hayashi and Yashamaru blinked in surprise. "It's because we were outside on the roof the other night, we only had one blanket and it was cold out and-" Mrs. Hayashi crouched down with a soft smile.

"It's not your fault; Kenta's been sick for the past few days, she probably caught it from him."

"Really?" Gaara asked.

"Mhm." Mrs. Hayashi smiled at the concern on his face. Gaara turned to Yashamaru and tugged on his pant leg.

"Yashamaru?"

"Yes?" Gaara motioned for him to crouch down so he could whisper. Yashamaru smiled and nodded. He and Mrs. Hayashi stood back up. "Is is alright if we come back in about an hour?"

"Of course." Mrs. Hayashi said with a smile.

…

"Why can't you come with me?" Gaara asked with a frown as he looked from the door of the Hayashi house to Yashamaru. He had a bag of medicine and a container of soup in his arms with Rin's headphones around his neck –she'd left them at his house the last time she was there.

"I have to get to the hospital, they called me in." Yashamaru said. "You'll be fine." Gaara looked back at the door and nodded.

"Okay." Gaara said. He walked to the door and balanced the container and bag on one arm so he could knock. Mrs. Hayashi opened the door and smiled at him. He smiled nervously back at her. Mrs. Hayashi noticed Yashamaru about ten feet away and waved to him. He wave back before walking away.

"I'm sure Rin will be very happy to see you." Mrs. Hayashi said.

"I brought extra medicine for Kenta too." Gaara said. Mrs. Hayashi blinked in surprise but nodded with a smile.

…

"Rin, you have a visitor." Mrs. Hayashi said as she opened the door. Rin coughed as the two entered the room.

"Gaara!" Rin said as her eyes lit up. Her nose was all stuffed up so her voice sounded nasally.

"Gaara brought you some soup and medicine." Mrs. Hayashi said.

"I brought your music too." Gaara said as he put the container and bag on the bedside table. He took the headphones from around his neck and the CD player from his pocket before handing them to her. He opened the bag and pulled out a spoon.

"Rin needs her rest so not too long a visit." Mrs. Hayashi said. Gaara nodded.

"Mhm. I know." He said with a smile. She smiled back before leaving the room. Gaara climbed up onto the bed and grabbed the container of soup.

"You didn't have to bring me soup." Rin said with a smile.

"You're sick, you have to get better and soup helps."

"Thank you, Gaara."

"You're welcome." He said opening the container. "Here ya go." Rin sat up and took the soup. She smiled when she saw what kind it was.

"My favorite."

"I know." Gaara said with a light blush dusting his cheeks. Gaara scooted over to sit closer.

"Don't get too close; I don't want you to get sick too." Rin said. Gaara shook his head.

"I can't get sick."

"Really?" Rin asked. Gaara shook his head again. "How come?" she asked before eating some of the soup. Gaara shrugged.

"I dunno. I just know I've never been sick before."

"Lucky. I hate being sick." Rin said with a pout. "I tried to go outside but mom stopped me."

"You have to stay in bed to get better." Gaara said with a frown.

"I know but I wanted to go see you. I didn't want you to worry." Rin said. Gaara's face went pink making Rin giggle.

…

Mrs. Hayashi quietly opened Rin's door and peeked inside. She smiled seeing the two asleep, the empty container of soup on the bedside table. They were hugging each other under the covers with Rin's headphones on. Mrs. Hayashi walked in and pulled the blankets up a bit higher. Gaara blinked his eyes opened and she smiled at him.

"Good night, Gaara." she whispered.

"Good night, Mrs. Hayashi." he whispered back with a small smile.

* * *

"Spider!" Rin squeaked as she clambered up onto a kitchen chair. Gaara jumped and immediately climbed up to stand next to her.

"Another one?" he asked with a frown.

"Gaara use your sand!" Rin said holding onto his sleeve. He nodded once and extended his hand out. The sand floated above the spider before solidifying and dropping down. "Ew." Rin said wrinkling up her nose. "but yay!" She cheered hugging Gaara. "My hero." His cheeks went pink.

"I'll always protect you Rin." he said hugging her back. She looked at him with a big smile.

"Promise?" she asked. Gaara nodded.

"Promise." Rin made a happy sound and buried her face in his shirt as she hugged him tightly. Yashamaru walked into the room and Gaara's face turned a deeper shade of red. "I got the spider." Gaara said. Yashamaru smiled.

"That's great. Is Rin okay?" He asked looking at the girl.

"I'm great!" She squeaked as she pulled her head away from Gaara. "Let's go play outside!"

"Okay!" Rin took Gaara's hand and they jumped off the chair before running from the room. Yashamaru chuckled before sighing as a frown formed.

* * *

 **May or may not post another chapter today depending on how much I get done on the chapters I'm working on now. I do know that I'm going to post 8 and 9 in the same day so maybe tomorrow I'll post those? What do you think?  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 **Make sure to read the bottom author's note. **

**SNicole25: Next chapter I think.**

 **Posting the next one in about an hour or two. Sorry it's super short.**

* * *

 _It starts with pain  
Followed by hate  
Fueled by the endless questions  
No one can answer  
…_

 _How did you get here and when did it start  
An innocent child with a thorn in his heart_

 _-World So Cold – 12 Stones_

Gaara and Rin were holding hands as he was walking her home at the end of the day. They'd lost track of time so it was already dark. They were so immersed in their conversation they didn't see Kenta walking towards them.

"There you are." Kenta grabbed Rin's hand from Gaara and started to pull her along.

"Kenta! Hey!" Rin tried to pull her hand free.

"Do you know how late it is? How worried mom and dad are?" Kenta asked.

"Ow!" Rin squeaked. Gaara's eyes widened.

"S-Stop it!" he shouted. Kenta stopped and look back at him. "You're hurting her."Gaara said with a frown. Kenta swallowed before he continued to pull Rin along.

 _Why is it always that look?_ Gaara thought. _Rin's the only one who never looks at me that way._

"I'll see you tomorrow, Gaara!" Rin called back with a smile. Gaara watched them leave with a frown before he turned to start walking home.

* * *

Gaara sat on the railing of the roof the same night, kicking his legs back and forth. He already missed Rin. Why did her brother have to be such a jerk? At least Rin's mother was starting to like him. He still hadn't met her father yet but Rin said he gets home later in the day. Would he be like Rin and her mother or would he be like Kenta and everyone else? Gaara let out a sigh and looked down sadly.

Suddenly his sand came up behind him to block some kunai making him look up with a gasp. He turned to see a masked man with floating kunai. Gaara's expression slowly hardened as he clenched his teeth and narrowed his eyes. The man threw more kunai but the sand blocked them. Gaara extended his hand and the man was covered in sand. He closed his fist to execute Sand Coffin.

"Who are you?! What do you want?!" Gaara asked the bleeding man on the ground. He swallowed before slowly walking over and pulling the mask away with a shaky hand. His eyes widened and he stared in shock.

"You did well, Gaara, you did very well." Yashamaru said. Gaara clutched at his heart.

"Yashamaru!" Gaara shouted as his sand shot out, reacting to the heightened emotions. "Why?" Gaara sobbed. "Why? Yashamaru? Why did you do it? I don't understand. Tell me why." Gaara wiped tried to wipe away his tears. "I thought, Yashamaru, I'm precious to you. How could you?"

"It was an order." Yashamaru said his voice coming out as a whisper. "You see I was ordered to kill you, Gaara, by lord Kazekage, your father."

"My father?" Gaara asked. He put a hand over his mouth; he felt sick. "Why me? Why would my father..?"

"You were born with the Shukaku, a living sand spirit inside you. All these years you have been watched and studied as part of a great experiment. It became clear that you could never control it. The Shukaku that possesses the power of the sand itself. The day is coming when your existence will be too dangerous for the village. It had to be done before then."

"You… You _had_ to obey my father, you didn't have any choice."

"You're wrong; I had a choice." "Yes, lord Kazekage made his wishes known to me but I could've refused if I had chosen to. I suppose it's because deep in my heart. I hate you, Gaara. I've always hated you. My sister died bringing you into this world. I can't forgive you for that. I told myself that you were all that was left of her and since I loved her, I should love you. I tried but I never could. It wasn't her choice to have you, to be made a human sacrifice, and so she died cursing this village. The day she died I felt a wound in my heart that I knew would never heal. Your name is the one your mother gave you. Your name is Gaara. A demon that loves only itself. As you must love no one else. Care for no one's existence than your own. Fight only for yourself and that way you will be sure to survive. This is the dying gift your mother left you but not out of maternal affection. It was not from love that she gave you your name. It was from her undying rage at this village. It was part of her curse that you should survive and grow. Her hate lives on in you. You were never loved, Gaara. Never." Yashamaru pulled open his jacket to reveal paper bombs. "But now, this is the end." A moment later they exploded. Gaara's sand had created a barrier that soon crumbled as he cried out in pain, anger and sadness. He let out a scream as his sand hit his forehead. He stood breathing heavily as blood dripped down his face.

* * *

Rin saw Gaara on the swing and ran up to him.

"Hey Gaara! Sorry about Kenta- whoa! What happened to your forehead?" Rin reached out to point to the kanji on his forehead and he swatted her hand away harshly. "Ow!" Rin frowned and held her hand. "What was that for?" She whined. Gaara got off the swing and started to walk away. "Gaara? What's wrong?" Rin jogged to catch up and reached out a hand. The moment she touched him he spun around, swinging his arm causing sand to lash out at her. Rin let out a scream as she fly back a few feet. The kids nearby stopped playing to watch them with fear in their eyes. Gaara glared down at Rin who was holding her arm. He noticed the blood seeping between her fingers and the tears already flowing down her cheeks and clenched his teeth. Rin had started sobbing but Gaara turned and walked away.

* * *

 **Probably don't have to explain but just a reminder that the sand also reacts to his emotions. ALSO DON'T WORRY BECAUSE IT WENT LIKE THE SHOW. I'm not skipping right to show events just yet. I have a few more chapters of them** ** _near_** **this age. I work it out. Trust me on this guys. Don't freak out!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 **guest: Thanks! ^_^**

 **SNicole25: You do know that it was Gaara's dad that gave him the mission(in case you didn't know he also lied to Gaara). They needed to test his control on the Shukaku not that he was a normal kid. He could be the most normal kid out there and not have control on the demon.**

 **Posting the next chapter in another hour or two. Don't freak out.**

* * *

 _She never slows down.  
She doesn't know why but she knows that when she's all alone, feels like it's all coming down  
She won't turn around  
The shadows are long and she fears if she cries that first tear, the tears will not stop raining down_

 _\- Stand In The Rain – Superchick_

Kenta was frowning as he rewrapped his sister's injured arm with gauze the next morning. She avoided looking at him as he scolded her, again.

"I told you that kid was trouble. He hurt you."

"He didn't mean to."

"How do you know?"

"Cause Gaara's my friend and would _never_ hurt me on purpose. He was just in a bad mood yesterday." Rin said with a frown. Kenta shook his head.

"Bad mood." he scoffed. "Stay away from him." Kenta said as he narrowed his eyes. "He's dangerous."

"He's my friend."

* * *

Rin saw Gaara on the swings again. He was watching the other kids play but instead of his normal lonely look he was glaring intensely at them. Rin ran up to him and he turned his glare to her. His eyes flicked to her bandaged arm before looking at her smile.

"Leave me alone." he said. Rin frowned.

"What's wrong, Gaara?" she asked.

"Go away." He said as he got up and pushed past her. Rin's lip quivered.

"Tell me what's wrong. Friends are supposed to be there for each other."

"I don't need friends." Gaara said.

"B-But… we made a promise." She whimpered. Gaara hesitated for only a second but then kept walking.

…

The next day when Rin went to the swings Gaara wasn't there. He wasn't there the day after that, or the day after that. Even so every day Rin would go to the swings to wait for him. She'd clutch her stuffed cat and swing slowly back and forth. Sometimes the other kids picked on her or bothered her but for the most part she just watched them play.

She'd been going to the swings for a month straight when Gaara finally came. The moment she saw him she jumped up and ran to him. The sun glinted off the key around her neck. Gaara glared at it for a long second before reaching out and yanking it from her neck and throwing it. It got stuck on a ledge about ten feet or so above them. Rin stared with her mouth hanging open. Gaara turned and started to walk away. Rin stared after him as she frowned. She looked to where the key rested and a determined look came over her face.

Gaara was gripping the front of his shirt as he walked away. The box the key belonged to was left unfinished on his desk in his room. He couldn't bring himself to smash it or even throw it away. He thought if maybe she didn't have the key anymore it wouldn't bother him. If she didn't have the key it meant the box wasn't for her anymore. He wouldn't think of her whenever he saw it.

Gaara heard a small rocks fall and a small determined grunt. He stopped and looked back. What he saw made his eyes widen and his heart skip a beat. Rin was already seven feet off the ground climbing up to get the key. As she neared the key one of her hands slipped and she let out a small scream. Gaara's feet seemed to move on their own as he ran to stand below her. Even as she was hanging by one hand she was trying to reach the key. Gaara quickly extended his hand and his sand flew to grab her and the key and bring them both down slowly.

"You'd risk your life for a stupid piece of metal?!" Gaara shouted with a glare once Rin was on the ground.

"It's important." Rin said as her lip quivered but she didn't cry.

"Why?"

"You gave it to me." She said. Gaara glared at her and shook his head.

"You're an _idiot_." He hissed before turning and walking away. Rin picked up the key and held it to her chest.

"Thank you." She whispered.

* * *

"Gaara!" Rin called as she knocked on the door. The door opened and Rin blinked at the brown haired boy, who was a little older than her, who answered the door.

"He doesn't want to see you." The boy said. Rin frowned in confusion.

"Why not?" Rin asked as her lip started to quiver. The boy glanced back inside nervously.

"Look, he told me to tell you not to come back. For your own safety I think you should just leave him alone." The boy said quietly. "He's dangerous."

"No he's not." Rin said with a frown. "He's my friend."

"He could kill you before you could even blink." The boy said with wide eyes. "Please just go away before he gets mad."

"B-but…"

"I'm sorry, please _go_." The boy said before closing the door. Rin's lip quivered more as tears came to her eyes.

…

The next year Gaara and Rin started at Suna's ninja academy. His brother and sister were already enrolled. Rin learned that the brown haired boy who'd answered the door was Gaara's brother, Kankurō. She'd never met their sister, Temari, but she'd seen her around the academy on occasion.

On the first day Rin learned Gaara was in her class. She'd sat next to him with a smile and a happy 'hello' but Gaara got up and moved to the other side of the room. Rin's smile faltered but she didn't let it show that it affected her in any other way. The next day before Gaara arrived Rin grabbed a piece of paper and wrote a quick note, folded it up and put it on Gaara's desk. The other kids in the room looked at her like she was insane as she returned to her desk. A few minutes later Gaara entered the room.

"Good Morning, Gaara." Rin said with a smile. He shot her a glare as he walked to his desk. He directed his glare to the note. She'd drawn a little heart next to his name. Everyone in the room tensed as his sand lifted the note and dropped it in the trash. He sat down and turned his head to glare at her.

 _Why is she still smiling?_ His mind growled.

The next day Rin greeted Gaara happily again and he found another note on his desk, this time with a smiley face. As it joined the other note in the trash Gaara turned to glare at her.

Even after another year of the same treatment she would still smile, greet him every morning and leave him notes.

 _How are you still smiling? Stop it!_ He thought as he glared across the room. _Stop being so happy!_ She was always smiling, no matter what he did. He threw out all of her notes, he ripped them up, he glared at her, and he ignored her. _Nothing_ worked. She wouldn't hate him, she wasn't afraid of him. It made his chest ache.

* * *

 **Posting the next chapter within the next hour or so again. Please don't freak out.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 **scarecrow09: Don't be sad.** **You'll probably like the next chapter.**

 **This is really short but I did post three chapters in one day.**

* * *

 _So many thoughts that I can't get out of my head  
I try to live without you, every time I do I feel dead  
I know what's best for me  
But I want you instead_

 _-Over & Over - Three Days Grace _

Every day Rin would bring her stuffed cat with her to class but would normally keep it hidden in her bag. One day before the teacher arrived, a boy knocked over her bag as he walked by and it fell out. The boy picked it up and laughed.

"What's this?" He asked as he held it up. "She still brings this stupid thing with her!" He laughed to the other students. Some of them started snickering. Rin jumped up from her seat and tried to get it back.

"Give her back!" She said jumping to get it. Gaara looked over.

…

 _"Give her back!" Rin squeaked. The two boys laughed. Rin's lip began to quiver._

 _"Awe, baby gunna cry?" The other boy teased. Rin lowered her head and brought her sleeves covered hands to her eyes._

 _"Hey, I thought you guys were playing with us?" A girl called over to the two boys. "Leave the weirdo alone."_

 _"In a minute!" The boy holding the cat called back. "What's wrong? Don't you want it back?" He asked Rin. She nodded. "Then jump for it." Rin sniffled into her hands._

 _"Hey." The two boys turned to face the familiar voice._

 _"It's Gaara." The other boy whispered. Gaara was frowning as he clutched his own stuffed animal with his little fists._

 _"Give it back." He said. The boy holding the cat quickly dropped it and backed up._

 _"Let's go." He said to the other boy and grabbed his arm before they ran away. Rin sniffled as Gaara walked up to her. He picked up her cat and held it out._

 _"Here." Gaara said softly with a nervous expression. He was ready for her to run or scream. Rin peeked out from behind her hands and blinked at him. He blinked back. She reached out to grab her stuffed cat and hugged it tightly with her eyes closed. Gaara had a little smile on his face. Rin opened her eyes and smiled at him making him blink._

 _"Thank you." She said._

 _"Y-You're welcome." He said quietly as he looked down at his feet, holding his bear to him. Rin leaned over and pecked his cheek. Gaara let out a tiny gasp as his head snapped up and stared at her with wide eyes._

 _"Mommy does that when papa does something nice for her." Rin explained. Gaara nodded and looked away as his cheeks turned pink. "My name's Rin." She added quietly._

…

"You're gunna be a ninja, aren't you?" The boy said to Rin. "You can't keep carrying this dumb thing around!" There was a loud rip sound and Rin stared in horror, tears coming to her eyes. Gaara's eyes widened a fraction. He hadn't seen her cry since that day when he hurt her arm; his eyes flicked to the scar and he clenched his teeth. The sound of a chair scraping across the floor pierced the air and sand shot out to grab the boy by the neck. It lifted him off the ground by a few feet and the stuffed cat fell to the ground as he attempted, in vain, to pull the sand from his neck. Rin gasped and saw Gaara standing with his arm extended, glaring intensely at the boy whose face was turning purple.

"Gaara stop!" Rin shouted. He turned his head to look at her. "Please!" She was crying even more making him clench his teeth even harder. He dropped his arm and the boy fell to the floor coughing and gasping for air. Everyone was staring in shocked silence as the sand returned to the gourd Gaara carried with him; no one dared to say a word or to move. Gaara walked over and glared at the kid in the chair next to Rin's. His sand yanked the chair back and the boy scrambled to get away. Gaara sat down and glared forward. Rin picked up the remains of her stuffed cat and sat back down in her seat next to Gaara. She glanced at him as she sniffled. "Thank you, Gaara." She whispered. He didn't respond.

When the teacher came into the room, he noticed Gaara and the boy had switched seats but didn't say anything. When he saw the boy with the black and purple neck he told him to go to the hospital and had another student escort him but didn't say another word on the matter.

Every day since, Gaara's new seat was beside Rin and the teacher didn't say a word about it. The message was very clear: You mess with Rin, you deal with Gaara. He still glared at her, threw away her little notes and ignored her but she kept smiling and greeted him happily every day. It was obvious to everyone that Gaara didn't need the same training as everyone else; he had mastered his sand the year before with the help of his father's training. The only reason he remained in the academy sat beside him every day with the smile that took away the pain.

* * *

 **Next one out tomorrow. Thank you everyone for reviews!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 **Taffdog19943: Me too. Lol jk. I only have one idea for it so far.**

* * *

 _I'm so afraid to admit that you're real  
Cause I'm afraid of what I might feel  
When your words start to come to life  
And it brings my demons into the light but I know you're here._

 _-No Ordinary Love - Memphis May Fire_

When Rin entered the class one day she was surprised to find Gaara already in his seat. As she sat down at her desk she noticed a note. She looked at Gaara but he didn't acknowledge her presence.

"Good morning, Gaara." she said with a smile before picking up the note. Gaara glanced at her from the corner of his eye and when her face lit up with joy he felt something in his chest.

 _How does she do that?_ he thought. _This ache in my chest unlike the pain I normally feel… Why does her smile do this to me?_

* * *

Rin sat on the swings and looked up at the sky. She hadn't been there for a long time; she'd been too busy at the academy or home. She heard footsteps in the sand and looked to see Gaara walking over. He stood in front of her but didn't look at her as he held out a box. It was a small wooden box with designs carved into it. Some of the carvings looked a bit choppy but it was the work of a six year old.

"This is adorable!" Rin squeaked with a big grin as she took it from him. "How do I open it?" Rin asked as she turned the box all around in her hands. Gaara pointed to the key on her neck silently. "Oh! So that's what it's for." Gaara nodded once and turned his head away again. She put in the key and lifted the lid. Gaara heard the rustling of paper and looked to see a small note in her hand.

 _What is-?_ He saw her name written in his six-year-old self's handwriting and his eyes widened as he remembered what he'd written in the note. He quickly snatched they paper from her. "Hey!" She whined.

"Did you read any of it?" He asked.

"What if I did?" She asked with a smile. Gaara swallowed and his cheeks went pink for the first time in a long time making Rin's eyes widened. She tried to grab the note back but Gaara shoved it in his pocket. "Awe, come on Gaara-kun!" Gaara's face became an even deeper shade of red and he turned and started walking away. Rin suddenly hugged him from behind and he immediately tensed. He'd gotten taller so her face was against his back. "I've missed you." She whispered. Gaara suddenly gasped quietly and gripped the front if his shirt over his heart. Rin quickly snatched the note back and ran to the swings.

"Rin!" He quickly went after her. She stood on the swing as she held up the paper out of his reach so she could read it. "Rin." He held onto the swing's chains his left hand almost touching her right.

"'Happy 6th birthday Rin.'" She read with a smile.

" _Rin_." Gaara reached up to grab the note but Rin held it higher.

"'you're my best friend.'" Rin read. "'I hope we stay together forever. I lo-' whoa!" Gaara put a foot between hers and stood making her wobble on the swing. Rin fell back off the swing and Gaara grabbed her, turning them so he'd hit the ground. His sand caught him and lowered them. He quickly snatched the note and shoved it back into his pocket. "Don't think I can't get it." Rin said as they stood. "I still have my secret weapon." She wiggled her fingers and Gaara took a step back as his eyes widened a fraction.

"Rin, no." He said holding up a hand.

"Give me the note, Gaara." She went to take a step forward and Gaara brought up a wall of sand. Rin let out a small scream of surprise and fell back. The sand fell as quickly as it had risen and Gaara's eyes were wide. He moved over to her and quickly scanned her for injuries. "I'm fine you just surprised me." She said giving him a smile. Gaara let out a sigh of relief and fell back to sit next to her. "You okay?" Rin asked. "I'm still your friend. You're my best friend." He glanced at her. "Forever and always." He looked down before closing his eyes and putting a hand where the pain had started to fade.

 _'A demon that loves only itself. As you must love no one else. Care for no one's existence than your own. Fight only for yourself and that way you will be sure to survive.'_ Gaara remembered what Yashamaru had told him before he died. _We'll survive together then._

"Forever and always." He whispered back to her.

* * *

A week after he'd given Rin her birthday gift, two years late, he'd started hanging out with her at her house again. Her parents knew by now, even if he hadn't said it aloud, that Gaara would protect Rin and would do anything to make sure no harm came to her from him or otherwise. Her brother, Kenta, on the other hand _still_ didn't trust Gaara. Kenta was friends with Kankurō, since they were in the same class, and Kankurō would often talk about how creepy Gaara was or how he threatened to kill anyone who bothered him or messed with Rin. Gaara never made any threats in front of Rin though; sometimes a glare said it all. He remained calm around her; his mood would settle drastically when he was with her.

At school he still wouldn't talk to her but instead of throwing away her notes he simply pocketed them. When she greeted him with a smile every morning, instead of ignoring her completely, he would look at her from the corner of his eye to meet hers before looking forward again.

During lunch Gaara would always leave and come back five minutes before the class started up again. One day Rin went to follow him with her lunch and the teacher stopped her.

"Rin!" The teacher called. Gaara turned to glare at the teacher who cleared his throat. "Make sure you're back in time for class." he said.

"Of course sensei!" Rin said with a smile before following Gaara out of the room.

…

The two headed to the roof and sat down. Rin held out her lunchbox to Gaara. He blinked at the box before looking at her.

"You never bring a lunch. You must be hungry." Rin said putting it in his lap.

"What about you?" he asked.

"I'm not that hungry." she said with a smile. It was that moment her stomach decided to growl. "Heh." Gaara sighed and handed her the box back. "Why don't we share it then?" She suggested as she opened it.

"You only have one set of chopsticks." He pointed out. Rin blinked and tilted her head.

"So?" she asked. Gaara blinked.

"Fine." He said. Rin grinned and handed him the chopsticks so he could eat something first before he handed them to her. He swallowed when the chopsticks touched her lips.

…

As Rin was putting her lunch box back in her bag Gaara noticed a grain of rice on her cheek.

"Rin." he said.

"Hm?" She turned to look at him. He reached out and picked the rice off her face before he held it up for her to see and watched her face turn pink. He almost found himself smiling as Rin put her hands on her face. "How long was that there?" She squeaked.

"Not long."

"Thanks. That would've been so embarrassing to go back into class like that." She leaned over and kissed his cheek making him tense up and stared at her. It was the first time in two years she'd kissed his cheek. He swallowed and stood.

"Let's go." he said.

"Okay!" Rin said jumping up. She slipped her hand into his and he immediately jerked away out of reflex. They stared at each other for a moment before Rin smiled with her eyes closed. "Sorry! I won't do that again." Gaara stared at her.

 _That smile,_ he thought as he frowned. _It's not the same._

"Let's go." Rin said. She turned to leave. Gaara grabbed her wrist before she could take the first step. She looked back at him and blinked. He swallowed and looked down at their hands before holding hers. She smiled again and gave his hand a squeeze. He squeezed back before they headed inside. Before they reached the classroom Rin was the one to let go. Gaara looked at her and she smiled the smile that made his chest flutter before they went inside. The two sat down silently and a moment later class started up again.

* * *

"Do you wanna come over for a sleepover?" Rin asked. Gaara turned his head to look at her as they walked. "Your parents don't like me."

"My mom adores you!" Rin said with a laugh. "She's always asking about when you're gunna come over again."

"And your dad?"

"Well, he never really _met_ you before." Rin said. "You guys saw each other… I think twice when he got home early."

"He knows about me."

" _I_ know about you."

 _No you don't,_ he thought. _And I plan on keeping it that way._

"He knows me and mom trust you, unless you hurt me," Gaara opened his mouth to reply but Rin quickly finished what she was saying. "which I know you would never do." Gaara frowned and his eyes landed on the scar on her upper arm. He stopped walking, making Rin stop as well, and lowered his head.

"But I did." he whispered. Rin looked down at the scar then back at Gaara before she frowned.

"It was an accident. You were upset." she said. He reached over and traced the scar with one finger slowly. His teeth clenched and he dropped his hand before he kept walking.

* * *

The next day when Gaara walked into the classroom he immediately noticed the bandage on Rin's upper arm. He made his way over to her and before she could greet him he grabbed her wrist and pulled her from the classroom then up to the roof.

"Who hurt you?" he growled as he let go of her wrist.

"No one." Rin said as she shook her head.

"What happened to your arm?"

"Nothing." She turned to leave but Gaara grabbed her wrist with one hand and pulled her bandage off with the other. Gaara's brow furrowed in confusion; there was nothing there, just her old scar. "It makes you hurt when you see it." Rin said. Gaara's eyes widened a fraction and he met her eyes. "I can see it on your face. I didn't want you to feel guilty every time you looked at me."

"It's a reminder of how I couldn't protect you from myself." he said.

"I think…" Rin looked down at the scar. "I think it seals our promise." Gaara blinked. "It's like a … a blood promise."

"But … you didn't give me a scar." he said as he shook his head with a frown.

"No, but _you_ did." She pointed to the kanji on his forehead. He reached up and touched it briefly. "Then you did this." She pointed to her own scar. Gaara frowned deeper.

"I don't see how that relates to the promise." he said.

"The same sand that scarred you scarred me, right?"

"Yeah but I still don't see how that has anything to do with a blood promise." Rin pointed to his kanji again before she poked it.

"Love." she said. Gaara blinked. "You promised you'd protect me, right?" Gaara's face went pink and he nodded. "Why?" Gaara blinked.

"What?"

"Why do you want to protect me?" she asked with a smile. Gaara swallowed and his face turned redder. Rin poked his kanji again. She smiled up at him before turning to leave. "Come on. We're going to be late for class." Gaara swallowed and followed her. From that day on Rin never covered the scar and always wore long sleeve shirts with sections cut out where the scar was and in the same spot on the other side.

* * *

Rin knocked on the door and a moment later Kankurō poked his head out.

"Oh it's _you_ again." He groaned. Rin stuck her tongue out at him. He frowned and stuck his out at her. Rin saw Temari walk into the room behind Kankurō and stopped before Temari saw her. Temari opened the door more so Rin could come in.

"You're such a child." Temari said to her brother as she shook her head.

"But she-! You're only a year older than me!" He shouted.

"Stop being so loud." Temari said with a glare. "Gaara's in his room." She told Rin. Rin walked past her. She turned and stuck her tongue out at Kankurō who pointed at her.

"She's doing it again!" He shouted. Before Temari could turn around Rin was out of sight.

…

Rin giggled to herself as she walked to Gaara's room. She knocked on the door before opening it. He was sitting on his bed with his arms and legs crossed and his eyes closed. Rin smirked and tiptoed in. Gaara opened one eye.

"You're not very good at sneaking." he said. "You should pay more attention in class." Rin pouted and crossed her arms.

"Dang it." She said as she sat on the bed. She let herself fall back so her head was in front of him. He looked down at her with still only one eye open as she smiled up at him. A small smile came to his face and Rin grinned. He closed his eye and didn't open them again until he felt Rin's fingers brush against his cheeks. He looked down at her as she continued to smile up at him.

"What are you doing?" he asked. Rin shrugged her shoulders and moved her fingers to go through his hair. Gaara closed his eyes and let out a silent content sigh.

"We should have a sleep over." she said. Gaara blinked. "We could have it at my place. Mom will make an extra plate for you." Gaara opened his mouth for a brief moment before closing it. "If Kenta's a jerk we can just eat in my room." Gaara nodded. "Great! I'll tell mom when I get home." Rin said with a smile. Rin took her hands from Gaara's hair, making him frown slightly, and reached into her pocket to get her music player. She offered Gaara the headphones that were around her neck. He took them as she found a song. Gaara stared at the headphones instead of putting them on and Rin tilted her head as she looked up at him with a frown. "What's wrong?" Gaara looked at her. "We used to listen together all the time."

"We were six." He said.

"Yeah, and? We're only four years older." Rin said. She didn't understand until she noticed his cheeks going pink. When they used to listen to music the two would have to hug each other in order to listen to it with the single pair of headphones. "You're right, they probably won't fit both of us anymore." she said with a nervous chuckle. Gaara handed Rin the headphones back and she sat up. "So whacha wanna do?" she asked as she turned to face him. Gaara was silent. Rin frowned for a moment before smirking. Gaara raised a brow in curiosity and a moment later Rin was tickling his stomach. He bit his lip and tried to move away as Rin laughed. He didn't trust his voice at that moment so he resorted to tickling her back to get her to stop. Rin squeaked and tried to get away from his fingers as she continued to tickle him. Gaara started to grin as Rin slowly started to stop tickling him. When she stopped completely he kept going until she was near tears. He stopped and looked down at her with a smirk. She slowly stopped laughing and looked up at him as she wiped away a few tears. Gaara reached down to wipe away one she missed. He let himself fall next to her and she turned to hug him. He was tense for a moment but eventually relaxed and put his arms around her, pulling her closer and burying his nose in her hair.

* * *

 **I think that was a nice long chapter. Hope you all enjoyed. BIG thank you to every reviewer! ^_^  
**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 **bunnyguest (Guest): What do you mean obviously he wants him in isolation. He just wants to be able to use the demon inside Gaara for future gain. The point of Yashamaru attacking him wasn't to make Gaara isolated but to test him emotionally and psychologically. The Kazakage needed to be sure Gaara could control Shukaku. He sent assassins after Gaara until he learned control which, in the show, was because of his 'love only myself and become a sociopath' ideology. Rin has replaced that. She's how he maintains control of himself, his emotions and Shukaku**

 **LordGhostStriker: XD**

 **Posting so soon after that long chapter to reply to bunnyguest (Guest).**

* * *

 _We lose faith in things unseen,  
Unsure of what to believe,  
Just dying to be loved when love's right in front of us.  
We give up on our hopes and dreams, and let doubt take everything.  
The door will open when we realize we don't hold the key._

 _No Ordinary Love - Memphis May Fire_

A week before Rin's eleventh birthday, Gaara walked towards her house with a cardboard box. He knocked on her door and her mom answered. He nodded to her silently but politely and she smiled before letting him in.

"You're here early." Mrs. Hayashi said. "Rin's still asleep. Though I'm sure she'll jump right up when she sees you." Gaara's face almost went pink but he quickly made his way down the hall to Rin's room. He knocked on her door just in case she was up and changing. When he heard the muffled reply he knew it was safe and opened the door. He bit back a smile at the mess of blue hair sticking out from under the blankets. He walked around and leaned over her before he shook her shoulder gently.

"Five more minutes mom." Rin whined.

"Rin." Gaara said. Rin shot up with a surprised yelp. The sand from his gourd shot out to cover Gaara's forehead and Rin smacked hers right into it. She rolled off her bed clutching her forehead. Gaara's eyes widened slightly.

"Ow." Rin moaned. Gaara put the box he was holding on Rin's bed before he pulled Rin's hands away from her forehead to see the damage.

"You're fine." He said.

"But it hurts." Rin whined. "Kiss it better." Gaara stared at her with wide eyes. Rin pouted and looked up at him with puppy dog eyes. Gaara looked away for a moment and swallowed before quickly pecking her forehead which caused his cheeks to go pink. Rin smiled and his face became redder. Gaara stood and picked up the box he'd brought before he held it out to her. "You got me a present? What for? It's not my birthday yet." She blinked. "Is it?" Gaara rolled his eyes.

"Just open it." he said pushing it into her hands. Rin opened the box and her face immediately lit up as she let out a happy squeak. She quickly put the box down on the bed and wrapped her arms around Gaara's neck in a hug. She caught him by surprise and he fell back, his sand making a cushion for him to land on, as his arms went around her out of reflex.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Rin said kissing his cheeks multiple times. Gaara was frozen and his face, neck and ears had gone red. The box tipped over as the kitten inside leaned on the edge and meowed. Rin got off of Gaara and picked up the black kitten to cradle it. Gaara remained on the ground with wide eyes. He blinked and slowly looked up at Rin who was gently rocking the kitten that was purring in her arms. He swallowed again and put a hand over his heart. "What should I name her?"

"I-It's a boy." Gaara said before clearing his throat wishing she hadn't heard it crack.

"Hmm… what do you think I should name him?"

"I don't care." Gaara said with a shrug as he crossed his arms and legs, still sitting on the floor.

"How about Gaara Jr?" Rin suggested with a giggle. Gaara gave her a look and Rin rolled her eyes. "Well help me think while I change." She said putting the kitten on the bed. Gaara eyes widened and he turned around. "Are you okay?" she asked. He nodded. She giggled and he glared at the wall. "I don't know what you're embarrassed about. We used to take baths together all the time." Gaara found himself smiling thinking back to the number of times they'd come back to her house covered in sand and dirt or Mrs. Hayashi found them covered in paint or flour. He hated to admit it but he didn't mind when Mrs. Hayashi was nice to him. Though it was probably because she thought he would hurt her if she didn't let him see Rin.

"That was before." Gaara said.

"Before what?" Rin asked.

"Before you hit puberty." The two turned to Rin's open door to see Kankurō leaning in the doorway.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Gaara almost growled.

 _He knows I won't threaten him in front of Rin but he's really pushing it,_ Gaara thought.

"He slept over." Kenta said coming into view. Rin threw a pillow at them.

"Hey, get out!" She squeaked.

"What _he_ can stay and we can't?" Kankurō asked gesturing to his brother. Gaara glared at the door and his sand closed it on them.

"Thanks." Rin said. Gaara nodded. "I forgot he was here."

"Does he come here often?" Gaara asked glaring at the door. Rin shrugged.

"They're friends so I would assume so. Kenta never comes over your house, does he?" Gaara shook his head. "I think Kankurō likes me." Gaara turned around with wide eyes. His face went red when he saw she was still changing and he turned back.

"What?" he asked. Rin shrugged.

"I dunno. He always teases me and when I told my mom she said that boys tease and pick on the girls they like."

" _I_ don't tease or pick on you." Gaara said shaking his head with a frown.

"That's cause you love me." Gaara's eyes widened and he swallowed hard. Rin suddenly hugged him from behind and put her chin on his shoulder. "You'd never let anything hurt me and you'd never hurt me yourself." Gaara turned his head to look at her and his eyes landed on the scar on her upper arm.

"R-Right." He said. His voice came out in a whispered. Rin kissed his cheek before she got her things for school.

"How about Kuro?" Gaara gave her a 'really?' look. "Shiro?"

"A black cat named White?" he asked. Rin sighed and put her hands on her hips.

"You're not exactly helping." she said. "Ai."

"Love?" Gaara asked. The word felt weird in his mouth.

"Mhm." Rin hummed. "Cause you gave him to me." Gaara turned his head away as he felt his cheeks heat up. Rin giggled and leaned down to kiss his kanji, giggling more when his ears went red. "Come on. We gotta get to class." Rin grabbed Gaara's hand to pull him up off the floor before letting go. "Come on, Ai." Rin picked up the kitten and put him on her shoulder. He mewed and rubbed his face against hers making her giggle. Gaara watched her with a slight smile.

* * *

"You've been quiet all day, are you okay?" Rin asked leaning over to look at Gaara as she walked next to him. Ai rubbed his face against Gaara's leg with a soft meow. Gaara looked down at the feline before looking at Rin and nodded. "Why aren't you talking? Does your throat hurt?" Rin reached over and touched his neck gently. He shook his head. Rin frowned. She noticed Kankurō and Temari walking about 20 feet in front of them. "Kankurō!" Rin called. Gaara looked at her confused. Kankurō and Temari stopped and waited for Gaara and Rin to catch up.

"Yo." Kankurō said with a nod. The two looked a bit nervous but more at easy since Rin was there.

"Gaara won't talk." Rin said with a pout. Kankurō tried not to smile. Gaara sent an intense glare at both his siblings. "Do you guys know why?" Rin asked. Kankurō shook his head and Temari shrugged. Rin sighed. "Fine, then I won't talk either." Rin said crossing her arms.

"I doubt you'll last." Kankurō said. Rin opened her mouth to respond but quickly closed it and shook her head.

"Good luck." Temari said. Rin nodded in thanks.

"Now we just have to see who lasts longer." Kankurō said. "My money's on Gaara."

"Fine, I think Rin can do it." Temari said patting Rin's back.

* * *

Gaara watched Rin who sat beside him on the roof. She'd started making him lunches so he had his own to eat. Neither had said a word in almost a week. He missed the sound of her voice and her laugh. She was determined to remain silent as long as he did. She even stopped writing him notes every morning. He couldn't take it any longer.

"Rin." He whispered.

"I won!" She squeaked with a smile but soon frowned. "My throat feels funny." Gaara handed Rin her water bottle. "Thanks." She said before taking a drink. "So are you gunna start talking now?" Gaara shook his head. Rin sighed and didn't say anything. They looked at each other in silence for a few moments.

"Fine." He whispered.

"Why are you whispering?" Rin whispered back. Gaara shrugged. "Nu-uh, there's a reason." Gaara shook his head. "Oh! I know! Your voice is doing that thing Kankurō's did last year!"

"N-O!" Gaara's hands slapped over his mouth. Rin giggled. "It's not fu-UNy!" He squeaked. Rin kept giggling.

"So that's why you weren't talking!" Gaara rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Were you just gunna not talk until it stopped?" Gaara nodded. "I wonder if your voice will be as deep as Kankurō's." Gaara frowned. "I guess we'll find out." Rin said with a smile.

"Will you keep talking?" Gaara asked in a whisper.

"Only if you talk when we're alone." Rin said. Gaara sighed but nodded. "Pinkie promise?" Rin asked holding up her pinky. A small smile appeared on his face and he hooked his pinkie with hers.

"Pr-O-mis." He said smiling when Rin started giggling.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 **SNicole25: shhh lol  
**

 **easilyaddictedgirl: what do you mean back then? They have TVs and stuff i know they're not in 2015 but they can't be that far back. Even if they didn't have CD players I'm changing it for my story. That's also why i picked almost the oldest thing and didn't say iPod.**

* * *

 _I need you  
Like the dragonfly's wings need the wind  
Like the orphan needs home once again  
Like heaven needs more to come in  
I need you here like you've always been_

 _-Priceless – Copeland_

Gaara cleared his throat as Rin sat down beside him on the roof during lunch.

"Is your voice normal now?" Rin asked with wide excited eyes. Gaara nodded. "Well? Say something!" She said with a grin. Gaara opened his mouth then closed it.

"I don't know what to say." he said. He looked at Rin since she hadn't responded and saw her staring at him with pink cheeks. "Is it bad?" he asked. Rin shook her head, still staring. She cleared her throat and looked away.

"No, no it's fine." she said. He watched her for a moment before dismissing her reaction and opening the lunch she made him. Ai jumped onto his lap making Gaara frown.

"Get off." he said. Ai meowed at him and pawed at Gaara's lunch box.

"He's hungry." Rin said.

"Don't you feed him?"

"Of course I feed him. He just wants a snack." Rin said.

"Go ask _her_ for food." Gaara said to Ai. Ai just meowed at him again.

"He likes you." Rin said reaching over to pet Ai's head. Gaara frowned. Rin rolled her eyes and picked up Ai and put him in her lap. "Hey Gaara?" Rin asked as she rubbed Ai's head.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we'll be in the same team after we graduate?" she asked. Gaara looked down.

"My father will put Temari and Kankurō on my team." Gaara said.

"Awe! But I wanted to be on your team." Rin whined. Gaara glanced over at her.

"You're going to be a medical ninja, right." he asked. She nodded. Rin had been visiting the Suna hospital when she wasn't hanging out with Gaara and had free time to learn. She loved the idea of helping people and didn't like fighting very much. If she had to fight she could and would but she preferred not to.

"Mhm." Rin hummed. She gasped and grabbed Gaara's arm making him turn his head to look at her. "I know! Maybe I can be your team's medic. I mean I know _you_ won't ever get hurt but Kankurō and Temari might."

"There's only three to a team." Gaara said.

"Maybe your dad will make an exception?" Rin suggested with a hopeful smile. Gaara scoffed.

"Doubtful." he said. Rin sighed.

"But I want to stay with you." she said hugging his arm. Gaara glanced down at her.

* * *

Gaara stood in front of his father who was sitting as his desk.

 _That was too easy,_ Gaara thought. _Why would he agree so quickly? Is he that afraid of me? Or does he just not care?_

"I'm sure the girl is waiting." The Kazekage said as the two held eye contact. Gaara watched him a few more moments before he turned and left.

 _Something doesn't feel right._

* * *

"What did you guys wanna talk to me about?" Rin asked as she stood in front of Temari and Kankurō.

"Gaara told you how the three of us are going to be a squad, right?" Temari asked. Rin nodded with a frown.

"Well guess what twerp," Kankurō said with a smirk making Rin glare. "You're gunna be our medic." Rin's eyes lit up.

"What? Really?" She squeaked. The two nodded. "But how I thought there was only three per squad."

"Gaara talked to our dad." Kankurō said with a shrug. "You're going to come with us to the chunin exams too."

"Unfortunately you won't be able to take them with us since we are a four man squad. " Temari said.

"That's okay!" The two blinked at her. "As long as I'm with Gaara, I'm okay with it." Rin said with a smile.

* * *

Gaara was walking towards the school when suddenly Rin was hugging him.

"I heard I'm gunna be part of your team!" she said, he could almost see the twinkle in her eyes. He nodded and she quickly let go of him. "Sorry." she whispered. "Little excited." she said with a nervous chuckle.

"It's fine." he said.

"So we get to the leaf village?" Rin asked. Gaara nodded.

"Not for a while though." he said.

"What do you think it's like?" Gaara shrugged. "Do you already know which jounin we're going to be assigned to?" Gaara nodded.

"Baki." Gaara said. Rin blinked. "He's a member Suna's advisory council." Rin nodded but Gaara could tell she still didn't know.

"So I guess you talked to your dad, huh?" she asked. Gaara nodded. "When am I gunna meet him?"

 _Hopefully never,_ Gaara thought.

"Oh I know, maybe I can meet him when I come over for our sleepover." Rin suggested.

"Sleepover?"

"Yeah." Rin frowned. "Did you forget already?" Gaara shook his head.

"Of course not." he said. Rin crossed her arms.

"Mhm." she hummed. Gaara looked at her.

"I remembered." he insisted. Rin wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"Sure you did." she said with a smile. Gaara frowned and glanced over at her. "It's okay." She gave him a side hug before taking her arm from around him.

* * *

"So whacha wanna do later?" Rin asked as she and the sand sibs were walking to their house.

"I don't know about you but I'm going to work on Crow." Kankurō said.

"I don't think she was talking to you." Temari said.

"Do you wanna do something with us?" Rin asked.

"No, no. I'm good." Temari said with a nervous chuckle.

"I've never had a girl friend." Rin said with a frown. Gaara turned his head to look at her and frowned. He looked at Temari then to Rin and back.

"Uh, if you wanna do something though," Temari said. "We could… do our hair, make-up." Temari shrugged. Rin's face lit up while Gaara and Kankurō frowned.

"Can we?" Rin asked jumping a little.

"Of course." Temari said with a smile. Gaara closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them Kankurō was giving him a 'you asked for this' look. For once Gaara didn't glare and simply closed his eyes again.

* * *

Gaara sighed as he sat on the couch in the living room with his arms crossed. Temari and Rin were giggling a few feet away as Temari was doing Rin's hair and Rin was attempting to put on make-up.

"No, no. Let me do it." Temari said grabbing a tissue and wiping off Rin's lip stick before putting a new layer on. Gaara sighed again as Kankurō walked into the room. Temari finished Rin's hair and make-up. "How does she look, boys?" Temari asked.

"Ya look pretty cute, twerp." Kankurō said with a smirk. Rin pouted and walked up to Gaara.

"What do you think?" she asked. He looked up at her and swallowed.

"Doesn't she look pretty, Gaara?" Temari asked. Gaara nodded. Rin giggled and kissed Gaara's cheek making his face go pink. Kankurō couldn't help but snicker. When Gaara looked at him, he covered his mouth. Rin blinked and giggled. Gaara frowned and looked at her. "Um…" Temari held out a mirror. Gaara narrowed his eyes at her before looking in the mirror. His eyes widened when he saw the lip print on his cheek. It was that moment when the door opened and a brown haired man walked in. The four turn to see him and Gaara quickly grabbed a tissue to get the lip stick off his face.

"Father, this is Rin." Temari said. Rin bowed politely.

"It's very nice to meet you, Kazekage-sama." she said. The Kazekage looked between his children, settling his gaze on Gaara who didn't break eye contact. The Kazekage turned his gaze to Rin who'd straightened up. She was smiling shyly and nervously. He nodded to her and left the room.

"Does he not like me?" Rin asked in a quiet voice. She looked at Gaara who was staring at where his father had left. Rin looked at Temari and Kankurō who shrugged. Rin looked down with a frown and Gaara quickly stood. Rin looked up at him.

"Do you want to go on the roof?" he asked quietly. Rin smiled and nodded before she took his hand.

* * *

Rin ended up falling asleep against Gaara on the roof so he carried her back inside and to his room. He put her under the covers before getting in himself. Her arm went around him immediately as her head found his chest. He let out a content sigh as he slipped an arm around her. He closed his eyes to meditate but soon opened them to find his father standing in his doorway. Neither said a word. Gaara's arm tightened around Rin, pulling her closer, as he gave his father a hard look. After another moment his father left and closed the door. Gaara looked down at Rin and gently brushed some of her hair out of her face. His finger trailed down her cheek to barely brush her bottom lip that was still pink.

* * *

"He wants to speak to me?" Rin asked. "Did I do something wrong?"

"How should I know?" Kankurō asked. The two were sitting at the table with Temari and Gaara eating breakfast.

"Did he say anything else?" Temari asked.

"No, he just said he wanted to talk to 'the girl' after breakfast." Kankurō said.

"Will you show me where he'd be?" Rin asked. Gaara frowned and looked at her.

"You don't have to talk to him." Gaara said.

"I can't just say no." Rin said. "He's the Kazekage."

"And you're my friend so I say you don't have to." Gaara said.

"I'll be fine." Rin said as she put a hand on Gaara's arm. "It can't be that bad."

…

Rin swallowed as she stood in front of the Kazekage's desk. He'd just been looking at her since she came into the room five minutes prior. She'd said good morning and bowed politely before waiting for his response. When he finally did speak Rin had to stop herself from letting out a relieved sigh.

"You're been… friends with Gaara since you were six. Correct?"

"Yes sir." Rin said with a nod.

"You are aware of what he is."

"I'm aware of who he is, yes." Rin said. The Kazekage narrowed his eyes.

"That is not the question I asked."

"I know, sir. But Gaara is a person and will be referred to as such." Rin said. The Kazekage was silent once more.

"You are aware of what is inside him." he rephrased.

"Yes, sir." Rin said. "The sand spirit, Shukaku."

"And this doesn't bother you?"

"Of course not, sir." Rin said shaking her head. "Gaara's my best friend. It doesn't matter what's inside him because that's not him."

"Is he aware you know?"

"I don't know. We've never talked about it. I assume so, sir." Rin said. He watched her for another tense moment.

"He has better control over the beast." The Kazekage said. Rin nodded. "I believe you are the cause of that."

"Then, it's a good thing, sir? You'll let me stay friends with him?"

"Is that what you thought this was about?" he asked. Rin nodded. "I can assure you I don't plan on separating you two." He let out a sigh. "Without you I'm sure he'd be an even bigger threat." he said quietly.

"He's not a threat." Rin said. The Kazekage raised an eyebrow. "People have just shaped their view of him to be that way. Everyone pushes him away so it's no wonder he's cold towards them."

"But not towards you."

"Of course not. I love Gaara; I'd never push him away." Rin said. The Kazekage blinked and his eyes widened ever so slightly.

"You love him?" he asked. Rin's face turned pink but she nodded.

"Mhm." She hummed. The Kazekage looked at her a moment before looking down at his desk.

"You can leave." he said. Rin nodded.

"Have a good day, sir." she bowed politely before leaving.

* * *

 **Should I skip to show stuff or try to think of more original stuff. I mean I have one or two things to happen still before show stuff but should I have them be separate chapters? I better find more songs to quote =/ I'm all out.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 **Easilyaddictedgirl: No.**

 **SNicole25: It's only for the sand sibs exam I was gunna come up with team mates for Rin for after they get back to Suna. There's a reason she's going with them.**

 **(guest): You'll see. I have a whole plan for the leaf village parts.**

 **Desperate Reader (guest): Lol calm down this is the main story I'm working on so there will be a lot of updates.**

 **: um… no. I have a thing I'm doing, don't worry.**

 **Yuki-Kawashima: That wouldn't work unless she had her own team which she doesn't yet. I could've given her a team before but I didn't want to have to change up the whole thing again like I did for my other story.**

 **dumped my cheating bf on sat., last official day of school was today, I graduate on Friday. Weird week...**

 **Long Chapter ^_^**

* * *

 _I'll be the angel by your side  
I will get you through the night  
I'll be the strength you can't provide on your own  
'Cause when you're down and out of time  
And you think you've lost the fight  
Let me be the angel  
The angel by your side _

_\- Angel By Your Side - Francesca Battistelli_

"You wanted to see me, Kazekage-sama?" Rin asked holding her hands in front of her.

"When do you turn 13?" he asked.

"Next week sir." Rin said with a curious frown. The Kazekage nodded and took something from his desk.

"Here." He said holding out a scroll.

"What is it?" Rin asked as she stepped forward to take it.

"A summoning contract." The Kazekage said. "You must use your own blood to sign your name and place your fingerprints. When you want to summon the creature you're contracted with you need only offer an additional donation of blood on the hand you signed the contract with, mould your chakra with hand seals – Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram – and then plant the hand you signed the contract with at the location you wish to summon the creature. The amount of chakra used during the summoning determines how powerful the summoned creature can be. It is possible to summon a group of the same contracted animal, as opposed to a single individual."

"W-Why are you giving me this?" Rin asked.

"You're going to the Leaf with my children in a few months." he said. Rin nodded. "Since you will not participate in the chunin exams this will be your task." Rin tilted her head. "When you return you'll be assigned to a team; they recently lost one of their members so you'll need to be strong enough to join them." Rin nodded.

"Um, if I may ask, sir, why wasn't I assigned to a team from my class?" Rin asked. The Kazekage took a moment to answer.

"When the teams were made you were an extra." he said. "It happens sometimes." Rin frowned but nodded. She wanted to stay with Gaara. "You're dismissed."

"Thank you sir." Rin bowed before leaving the room.

* * *

"He gave you a birthday gift?" Temari said.

"I think dad's lost it." Kankurō muttered. "Maybe he's sick."

"He looked fine to me." Rin said. "And it wasn't a birthday gift… he just asked when I was gunna be 13 before giving it to me.

"What is it?" Gaara asked looking at the scroll.

"A summoning contract." Rin said.

"For what?" Temari asked. Rin shrugged.

"Do it." Kankurō said. Rin rolled out the scroll on the coffee table. "How do you do it?" Kankurō asked.

"I'll show you." Rin said. She bit down on her thumb and Gaara's eyes widened.

"Why'd you do that?" he asked.

"You have to sign with blood." Rin said as she did just that. She touched her thumb to her other fingers before putting down her fingerprints.

"Now what?" Kankurō asked.

"Now I do the jutsu." Rin said. "I, Inu, Tori, Saru, Hitsuji." She put her hand to the ground and a symbol appeared on the floor. She took her hand away and there was a small puff of smoke. The four ninja leaned in to look. The smoke cleared and a white kitten looked up at them. It meowed and Ai, who was lying on the couch, instantly shot up in alarm.

"Of course it's a cat contract." Kankurō said with a chuckle as she shook his head. "Dad's got a sense of humor."

"I don't think Ai likes it that much." Temari said pointing to the black cat, who was walking around the white kitten, that was a third of his size, warily. Rin picked up Ai and put him in her lap before petting him. There was another puff of smoke and the kitten was gone. "Guess you'll have to work on that."

"Mhm." Rin hummed.

"Well we've got a month before we have to leave. Hop to it." Kankurō said. Gaara glared at him. "Or, ya know, you could not." he said with a shrug.

"Rin." Gaara said as he stood from the couch. Rin stood, holding Ai, and followed him with a smile as he left the room.

* * *

"You're all packed?" Mrs. Hayashi asked with a small smile as Rin ate breakfast with a pack on her back. Ai was on the floor eating his breakfast. Kenta walked into the room and frowned when he saw her but walked up to her.

"Here." He pushed a large hat onto her head. "Don't want you catching heatstroke before you get there."

"Thanks bro." Rin said holding it with a smile. Kenta patted her on the head with a small smirk.

"Good luck." he said. Rin grinned.

…

"Hey guys!" Rin called waving as she approached the sand siblings and Baki by the entrance of the village.

"Finally." Kankurō said with a smirk. "I was beginning to think you'd chickened out."

"I'm not that late." Rin said with pout. Kankurō chuckled and flicked her hat making it tilt.

"I'm just teasing you, twerp." he said. Rin continued to pout as she fixed her hat but then smiled.

"It's a three day trip and we won't be stopping unless absolutely necessary." Baki said. He tossed a small pouch to Temari, Kankurō and Rin. "Use these solider pills if you get tired." The three nodded. "Let's go."

…

"Getting tired yet?" Kankurō asked turning his head to look at Rin as they ran.

"Nope." She said turning her head to look at him. "You?"

"Nope." he said with a grin. "How 'bout you Temari?" The eldest sibling rolled her eyes and didn't answer.

"You good, Gaara?" Rin asked with a smile as she turned her head to him. He glanced over at her and nodded. "Hey, I see the forest!" Rin said with a big smile.

"It's only another day's journey." Baki said.

…

"Can we stop yet?" Rin asked with a frown.

"We're almost there." Baki said. "We should be coming upon the village gates any minute now." As he said, a few minutes later they had reached the gates.

"Finally." Kankurō groaned.

"We have to check in, then you can… explore while I get us rooms for our stay." Baki said. The four nodded and walked up to the two ninja behind a counter.

"Halt. State your purpose." One said holding up a hand.

"We're here for the chunin exams." Baki said.

"Only teams of three genin can compete." The other said.

"I'm not competing." Rin said. "I'm just here to cheer them on and provide medical support." she added with a smile. The two leaf ninja looked at each other before looking back at Baki and nodding. Baki handed them papers which they stamped before the five were allowed enter the village. "Whoa this village is so different." Rin said.

"Of course it is." Kankurō said. "If they were all the same that would be so boring." Rin nodded in agreement.

"The exam isn't until tomorrow." Baki said as he handed the four their IDs. "Don't cause any trouble." he added before he left.

"I wanna meet some leaf ninja." Rin said looking around.

"Why?" Kankurō asked with a frown.

"Cause it's fun to meet new people!" Rin said with a little jump. Kankurō shook his head.

"Let's drop our stuff off at the inn first." Temari said. "I don't know about you but I don't want to lug this around all day." she said pointing her thumb at her pack. Kankurō and Rin nodded before the four headed to the inn.

* * *

"What's taking you so long?" Kankurō asked as he knocked on the door of Temari and Rin's room.

"Give us a few more minutes." Temari said.

"They're taking forever." Kankurō groaned.

"Shut up." Gaara growled. A few minutes later Kankurō knocked on the door again.

"Done yet?"

"Yes! Jeez." Temari opened the door and gave her brother a look.

"What took you so long?" Kankurō asked.

"We had to alter a few things." Temari said before smiling. "Are you coming out or what?" she asked looking back in the room. Gaara glanced over for a second before turning to stare as Rin walked out. She had her hair tied up in a high ponytail, a white shirt that only went a few inches below her bust, under that was a fishnet sleeveless shirt that covered her neck and didn't cover her stomach. Her sleeves were unattached to the rest of the shirt because Temari had cut out two sections so Rin's scar would show. She wore white pants that were a bit baggy but ended just below her knees and ninja boots that covered the rest of her legs. Her hitai-ate had a black cloth and was tied around her waist just above her belly-button. Kankurō whistled pulling Gaara's attention from Rin to glare at Kankurō.

"Whoa." Kankurō said.

"What do you think?" Rin asked with a light blush as she held her hands behind her back.

"You look like a real ninja, twerp." Kankurō said with a smirk. Rin rolled her eyes at him. Temari looked at Gaara.

"What do _you_ think, Gaara?" Temari asked. Gaara glanced at her for a moment before looking at Rin. Rin turned to look at him and smiled. Gaara looked at Kankurō and Temari who got the hint and left the room quickly.

"Well?" Rin asked.

"You look great." Gaara said. Rin smiled. "But…" Rin tilted her head. "You…" he was looking at her hitai-ate. Rin looked down too.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Why is your stomach showing?" he asked with a frown.

"Huh?" Rin looked up. "Well, I thought it looked cooler. Temari said it looked okay. Is it that bad?" Rin asked with a frown.

"No. I mean it looks fine." Gaara said shaking his head. He looked a little higher. "When did you…?" He blinked and looked up to meet her eyes. "Sorry, nevermind." He cleared his throat. Rin giggled.

* * *

Rin and Gaara were walking through the village. Gaara had his arms crossed and Rin was holding her hands behind her back.

"I can't wait to see you fight." Rin said. Gaara glanced at her. "I mean you know I don't like fighting and violence but to see you in action would be amazing!" A small smile came to his face. "I heard that people can get really hurt in the exams." Rin said with a frown. "I hope Temari and Kankurō will be okay."

"They'll be fine." Gaara said.

"I wonder where they are anyway."

"That's it, drop him now or I take you apart! You got that, fool?!" Someone shouted.

"Huh?" Rin stopped walking and turned her head towards the source of the shouting.

"You're the fool! Making threats isn't going to help, Naruto!" A girl shouted.

"You're annoying." Kankurō said.

"Hey it's Kankurō." Rin said looking around corner. "What's he doing to that boy?" she asked with a frown noticing the young boy Kankurō was holing by his scarf. Gaara sighed.

"All of you. I don't like runts or any other scrawny weaklings." Kankurō continued. "So when a wimp like this starts shooting off his mouth. I just wanna break him in half." Temari sighed.

"Fine, I'm not involved in any of this, okay?" She said.

"First I'll take care'a this little squirt then I'll waste the other one!" A blond boy ran forward with a yell as Kankurō pulled back his fist. Suddenly a rock hit Kankurō's hand making him drop the boy he was holding. The rock rolled on the ground and Kankurō held his hand in pain. He turned and looked up to see a black haired boy in a tree throwing a rock up and catching it.

"You're a long way from home and you're way outta your league." The boy said.

"Sasuke!" The pink haired girl fangirled.

"Naurto!" The younger boy ran over to the blond.

"Shouldn't we do something?" Rin asked looking back at Gaara but found him to be missing. "Huh?"

"Oh great another wimp to tick me off." Kankurō said. Sasuke caught the rock he was throwing and crushed it in his hand letting the dust fall.

"Get lost." Sasuke said.

"Ah! So cool!" Sakura exclaimed.

"How come you're not cool like that, huh?!" The youjng boy asked Naruto.

"What'd ya mean? I coulda taken that guy out in two seconds flat." Naruto said crouching in front of the boy. Kankurō looked up at Sasuke.

"Hey punk, get down here." Kankurō said. "You're the kinda pesky little snob I hate the most all attitude and nothin ta back it up." He took the buddle off his back and stood it up in front of him.

"What? Are you gunna use the Crow for this?!" Temari asked.

"Kankurō, back off." Gaara said. On the opposite side of the tree where Sasuke was, Gaara was standing upside down with his arms crossed. "You're an embarrassment to our village." Kankurō suddenly looked nervous.

"Uh- I- Hey Gaara." Kankurō said.

"Have you forgotten the reason we came all the way here?" Gaara asked.

"Uh I know." Kankurō said. "I-I mean they challenged us." Kankurō chuckled nervously. "They started the whole thing really. See here's what happened-"

"Shut up." Gaara said. Kankurō flinched. "Or I'll-" Gaara stopped when he saw Rin jogging up to them.

"Uh right." Kankurō said knowing what Gaara was going to say. "I was totally outta line. I- I'm sorry Gaara, I was totally outta line." Gaara turned his head to look at the Naruto and the others.

"I'm sorry for any trouble he caused." Gaara said. He and Sasuke looked at each other before Gaara teleported with sand to stand by Kankurō, Temari and Rin. "Let's go. We didn't come here to play games." The four started to leave.

"Alright, sure, I get it." Kankurō said.

"Hold on!" Sakura said. Kaminari sighed. The four ignored her. "Hey!"

"What?" Temari asked without turning.

"I can tell from your headband that you come from the village hidden in the sand." Sakura said. "Of course the land of fire and the land of wind are allies but no shinobi can enter other's village without permission. So state your purpose and it better be good." Rin raised an eyebrow as the group turned back.

"Really? Have you guys all been living under a rock or what? You don't know what's going on do you?" Temari asked.

"We're here for the Chunin exams. Duh." Rin said.

"So we have permission." The Temari held up a passport like ID they'd gotten from the two ninja at the gate. "Of course you're correct, we are hidden sand genin; our home is the land of the wind and we're here for the chunin exams."

"The chunin exams, what's that?" Naruto asked. "Well I've never heard of any chunin exams, believe it." Naruto said.

"I believe it alright, that you're totally clueless." Temari said.

"Hey boss those are the exams that genin's got to take in order to graduate to being a full on chunin." The young boy said.

"Oh well why didn't you say so? I am so there!" Naruto said excitedly. The four turned to leave. Sasuke jumped down from the tree.

"Hey, you!" He called. "Identify yourself."

"Hm?" Temari stopped to look back. "You mean me?" she asked with a smile.

"No him, the guy with the gourd on his back." Sasuke pointed. Kankurō stopped and Gaara turned around.

"My name is Gaara of the desert." He turned to fully face him. "I'm curious about you too. Who are you?"

"I am Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke said with a smirk.

"Hi there! I bet you're dying to know my name, right?" Naruto asked.

"I couldn't care less." The three turned around but Rin smiled.

"I wanna know!" She said jogging over. Naruto smiled.

"You have blue hair!" He said pointing. Rin blushed and touched it.

"Mhm." She hummed with a nod.

"That's cool." he said with smile. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" He said pointing a thumb at his chest.

"I'm Rin Hayashi." Rin said with a small bow.

"Rin." Gaara said. Rin turned to look at him for a brief moment before looking back at Naruto with a smile.

"I'll see you around!" she said with a small wave.

"Yeah!" He watched her run back to the sand siblings. Gaara glared at Naruto but Naruto's eyes were on Rin.

* * *

"That boy was cute." Rin said as she kicked her legs on one of the inn beds.

"The black haired one?" Temari asked as she put a few things away in the dresser of the room. Rin shook her head.

"No, the blond one with the really bright eyes." Rin said with a smile. Gaara frowned as he sat beside Rin.

"Really?" Temari asked. "The loud blond?" Rin giggled and nodded. She noticed Gaara trying to glare a hole in the floor and leaned over to whisper in his ear.

"Don't worry; I still think you're cuter." She said before pecking his cheek. He turned his head away as his face went pink which caused Rin to giggle.

…

Rin came out of the bathroom in her PJs and sat on Gaara's bed. Baki, who was sitting at the desk in the room, sighed.

"You room with Temari." Baki said to Rin pointing to the door that joined the rooms.

"But I wanna stay with Gaara." Rin said.

"Gaara doesn't sleep." Baki said.

"I know but…"

"She stays with me." Gaara said. Kankurō, who was sitting on the other bed, opened his mouth to explain but knew better. Baki sighed with a hand over his eyes.

"You're not kids anymore." he said. Rin blinked.

"We're still friends though." she said.

"That's not the point." Baki said. "Tell me one of you," he looked to the other two sand siblings. "gave him 'the talk' at some point."

"Are you kidding?" Temari asked.

"Well?" Baki asked.

" _I_ did last year." Kankurō said. Temari sighed and noticed Rin and Gaara's cheeks were pink and they avoided looking at one another. Baki turned to Gaara who glared and got into the bed.

"Rin." Gaara said. She looked over and blinked before she smiled and slipped in with him. Baki shook his head and left the room. Kankurō and Temari shrugged. Temari left the room and Kankurō got into his bed. Rin cuddled up to Gaara who put his arms around her and pulled her closer. She rested her head on his chest and her hair brushed against Gaara's chin.

"Good night, Gaara." Rin whispered. Gaara inhaled deeply and closed his eyes.

"Good night, Rin."


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 **Made a ninja info card for Rin by using a template on deviantart Add this to url of DA - (/art/Ninja-Info-Card-Template-83023770) You can find the link to the blog where Rin's card is on my profile. It's the blog link.**

 **easilyaddictedgirl: It's implied her mother gave it to her. I didn't think I needed to say that she had it too.**

 **Yuki-Kawashima: Thanks!**

 **I know Rin's weapons are never mentioned but she does have one (well two) and they're stated in this chapter. And if anyone has questions about missions (Which are also stated) D are like errands she's done for people by herself and any Cs are ones she's gone on with the sand sibs when Baki would let her.**

 **Yeah song below is country but I just like the lyrics I used. Not saying I don't like country music but eh this song's okay. I had no idea what song to use for this chapter.**

 **Enjoy ^_^**

* * *

 _We fall down and we get up  
We walk proud and we talk tough  
We got heart and we got nerve  
Even if we are a bit disturbed_

 _\- These Are My People -Rodney Atkins_

Rin was walking through the village holding Ai when suddenly the young feline jumped out of her arms and sprinted away. She gasped and ran after him.

"Ai!" Rin called. "Come back!" She turned a corner but didn't see the cat anywhere. "Ai! Where did you go?" Rin jogged along-side a fence and around a few corners before she heard a meow. "Ai!" Rin went on her toes to look over the fence and saw the black cat along with a black haired boy in a green jumpsuit. "There you are!" The boy, who'd been crouched and petting Ai, looked up.

"Huh?" He stood as Rin vaulted over the fence.

"Why'd you run away like that?" Rin asked as she picked Ai up.

"So this is your cat?" The boy asked with a smile. Rin blinked at him as if just noticing him.

"Yeah." she said with a nod.

"You are from the sand village." he said nodding to the hitai-ate around her waist.

"Yeah, I'm Rin." she said with a smile. The boy smiled back.

"My name is Rock Lee." Lee said with a smile.

"It's nice to meet you." Rin said.

"And you as well." Lee said with a nod.

"Thanks for finding my cat. I don't know why he just ran off like that."

"What is his name?"

"Ai?"

"Love?" Lee tilted his head. Rin nodded.

"Mhm." Rin hummed. "It's a thing between me and my friend." she said.

"You are here for the chunin exams; I too am going to participate." Lee said. Rin shook her head.

"I'm actually not taking the exam." Rin said shaking her head. Lee frowned. "I'm here supporting my friend and his team."

"Oh, I see." Lee said nodding.

"I should probably go… uh… do you know where the first exam is being held?" Rin asked with a sheepish smile. Lee nodded.

"Yes, I will take you there if you wish."

"That'd be great!"

…

"You're not going right to the exam?" Rin asked when Lee told her the room number from outside. Lee shook his head.

"There is someone I wish to meet first."

"Oh okay." Rin said with a nod.

"I hope to see you again." Lee said with a smile. Rin smiled back.

"Me too!"

…

Rin pushed open the door to the exam room and gulped when she saw all the ninja inside. She quickly scanned the room for Gaara and the others, spotting his red hair almost immediately. She went to head over when Naruto was suddenly in her face.

"Hey Rin!" he shouted.

"Whoa!" Rin jumped back.

"I thought you said you weren't taking the exams." Naruto asked with a frown as he leaned forward.

"I'm not." Rin said leaning back as she shook her head.

"You're only allowed in here if you're taking the exam." Sakura pointed out.

"Shh! I know." Rin said. "I just wanted to wish them luck." she said nodding over to the sand sibs. The two let her go past them and to the three siblings.

"You got past the fake door." Kankurō said.

"It's not that impressive." Rin said. "I _can_ count the number of floors."

"Wonder what they're doing." Temari mused. Rin looked back at the leaf genin to see another boy with them with cards.

"Are they playing cards?" Rin asked.

* * *

"What the heck are those?" Sakura asked Kabuto, looking at his cards.

"It's hard to explain but these cards have been chakra encoded with everything I've learned over the past four years." Kabuto placed the cards on the ground and crouched in front of them. "I've got more than 200 of them. So you see I haven't been completely wasting my time. They made not look like much to the naked eye, in fact," He flipped over the first card, it was blank. "They appear blank. Don't want just anyone seeing this stuff." He spun the card around with one finger.

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked.

"You see I'm using my chakra to reveal their secrets, like this for example." He brought his other hand up and the card suddenly changed to reveal a picture with the nations and their hidden village symbols. On each was a green bar.

"Awesome, a map." Sakura said "Of what?"

"It shows the geographical distribution of all the candidates who have come to take the chunin exam, what villages they come from and how many from each village. Why do you guys think they all come here to take the exam together at the same time?" He looked around but no one answered. "It's to foster friendship between nations of course. International brotherhood and all that, and it's true enough as far as it goes."

"But there's another reason." Sasuke said.

"Yeah, you see the important thing is that this way they can carefully regulate the total number of shinobi that end up in each village, thereby maintaining the balance of power."

"Oh yeah, balance of power," Naruto said.

"Balance of power, big deal, it's all a drag." Shikamaru said. Kabuto made the card blank again.

"If the balance isn't maintained one nation could wind up with many more shinobi than its neighbors and it might be tempted to attack them." Kabuto said. "So they try to maintain the status quo. Makes sense I suppose.

"Do those cards of yours have any info on the other candidates, individually?" Sasuke asked.

"They might." Kabuto said. "You have someone special in mind?"

"I might."

"Well I can't promise my information is complete or perfect." Kabuto put the one card back and straightened the deck. "But I've got something on just about everyone. Including you guys of course, so which one is it? Tell me anything you know about them, a description, where they're from, whatever." He held up a card. "Anything at all."

"He's Gaara of the desert and there's Rock Lee of the Leaf Village while you're at it."

"Man that's no fun, you even know their names, that makes it easy." Kabuto said. He swiped his hand over the cards and held up two. "Here they are."

"Show'em to me."

"Okay, first up is Rock Lee." Kabuto said as he spun the first card. It revealed Lee's card. "Looks like he's about a year older than you guys. Mission experience, 11 C ranks and 20 D ranks. His squad leader is Gai. In the last twelve months his Taijutsu has radically improved but his other skills are pretty shaky. Last year he got a lot of attention as a genin but for some reason he chose not to participate in the chunin exam. This will be his first time as a candidate same as you guys. His team mates are Tenten and Neji Hyuga."

"Huh? Hyuga?" Naruto asked. Kabuto put the second card down.

"Okay, now for Gaara of the desert. Mission experience eight C rank and get this one B rank as a genin. There's not a lot more information on this guy. He was a rookie from another land originally but there is this: he survived every mission without getting a scratch on him."

"The dude's done a B rank as a genin and has never even been injured?" Shikamaru asked.

"What's the deal with this guy?" Naruto asked. "Um…What about the blue haired girl?" Naruto asked with a small smile. "What's her card look like?"

"She's not even competing." Sakura said. "Why do you wanna know about her?"

"No reason." Naruto said.

"Do you know her name too?" Kabuto asked.

"Rin Hayashi." Naruto said. Kabuto nodded and took a card before waving his hand over it. "She specializes in medicine like me but she also specializes in the summoning technique."

"Wow, that sounds cool." Naruto said.

"She doesn't have a team but she's been on 12 D missions and two C missions." Kabuto read.

"Doesn't have a team?" Shikamaru asked.

"How's that possible?" Kiba asked. Kabuto shrugged.

"She was never assigned to one."

"What's that claw picture?" Naruto asked pointing.

"That's the weapon she uses, they're called tekagi shuko."

"You should know that Naruto." Shikamaru said. "We learned about all ninja weapons." Naruto smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. Shikamaru sighed and shook his head.

"Other than that she's normal." Kabuto said.

" _Meow_."

"Huh?" Everyone turned to see Ai looking up at them.

"Who brought a cat?" Ino asked.

"It's so cute." Hinata said with a small smile. Kiba made a face and took a step back. Akamaru suddenly jumped down from his head and approached Ai.

"Akamaru, no!" Kiba said as the small dog began to chase the cat around the group.

"Ai!" The group looked to see Rin jogging over.

"Is that thing yours?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah and your dog is chasing him! Make it stop!" Rin said. Kiba turned to the two animals.

"Akamaru!" The dog stopped chasing Ai and looked up at Kiba with sad whimper.

"Ai!" Rin went to pick the cat up but it ran over to Akamaru and rubbed against him. Akamaru barked and Ai started chasing _him_.

"Huh?" The two pet owners looked on in shock.

"They're playing." Ino said with a laugh.

" _Ai_." Rin said. "We're not here to play." The cat stopped and trotted over to Rin and rubbed against her leg before jumping into her arms. Akamaru walked up to Kiba who put him back on his head. "Sorry about that." Rin said with a sheepish smile. "Um I'm Rin." She said when she noticed there were a lot of people she didn't know. They all introduced themselves, except for Sakura and Sasuke, even Naruto. Rin giggled.

"I know your name already, Naruto, we meet yesterday." Rin said. He chuckled.

"Heh, I know."

"You're not participating?" Kabuto asked.

"Hm? Oh no, I'm just here to cheer on my friends." She turned and pointed over to the sand sibs. Gaara was looking at her in a silent 'come back here'. "I should get back to them." She said turning to smile at the group. "It was nice meeting you all. Good luck in the exams!" She said before jogging back over to the sand sibs.

"She's wishing _us_ luck? She doesn't even know us." Ino said.

"She's really nice." Hinata said quietly.

* * *

"You're going to have to leave soon." Kankurō said to Rin.

"I know but I wanna hang out as long as I can." Rin said.

"I'm not gunna be the one getting in trouble." Kankurō said.

"Kankurō's right." Temari said.

"Is the world ending?" Rin asked with wide eyes.

"Ch- hey!" Kankurō growled crossing his arms. The two girls chuckled.

"Seriously, Rin," Temari said. "You should get back to the inn. We'll be done in no time."

"Okay." Rin said with a sigh. She went up to Gaara and cupped her hand around his ear. "I know it would embarrass you if I gave you a good luck kiss on the cheek so I'll give you one after you pass, cause I know you will." She whispered before leaning back to smile at him. His expression didn't change but it didn't need to. Rin looked at Kankurō and winked before leaving the room.

* * *

Rin walked down the hall, stood outside the bathrooms and looked around before slipping into the males. She entered a stall and locked it before letting Ai off her shoulder. She bit her thumb and made the hand signs for the summoning jutsu before slamming her hand on the floor. There was a puff of smoke before it cleared to reveal a brown cat about half the size of Ai.

"Yes?" A deep male voice asked.

"You know what to do?" Rin asked with a small smile. The cat seemed to smile back before nodding and giving a small salute.

"Of course. Do you want me to take the… recruit along again?"

"His name is Ai and no. This is a one ma- one cat job." Rin said. The cat nodded and Ai laid down with his head on his paws. The cat looked at him and patted him on the head lightly.

"Next time, champ." The brown cat said before running out from under the stall. Ai stood up and narrowed his eyes after the cat as if to say 'I'm twice your size, _champ_!' Rin chuckled.

"Relax." Rin said petting Ai. "He means well." Ai jumped into Rin's arms.

…

A few minutes later the brown cat returned with a piece of paper in its mouth. He put it down in front of Rin who picked it up.

"Great work, Hayate." Rin said. Hayate bowed his head.

"Of course, mistress."

"That was fast."

"It was not easy. It was heavily guarded and I had to fight off-"

"It was unguarded in a desk wasn't it?" Rin asked with a smirk. Hayate sighed.

"Yes." Rin pet his head. "I wish you would give me more challenging missions."

"You're a scout, Hayate."

 _"I know_." Hayate groaned. "Is that all you need me for?" Rin shook her head as she took out a pen and a piece of paper. She started copying what was on the paper Hayate brought.

"I'm going to need you to put this back. Then you can go back." She finished copying the paper and put the paper back in Hayate's mouth. He turned to leave but stopped.

"Hum…"

"I have treats back at the inn." Rin said with a smile. Hayate grinned around the paper before running away.

* * *

Rin sighed for the fifteenth time before she heard someone enter the bathroom. She jumped up onto the seat with Ai on her shoulder.

"Rin?" Kankurō asked in a whisper. Rin hopped down and opened the stall door. "You got it?" Kankurō asked when he saw her. She looked at Crow, dressed up as one of the sentinels, and poked it. " _Rin_."

"Hm? Oh sorry!" She took the paper she copied out of her pocket and handed it to him. "Are you sure trying to memorize it is the best idea?"

"Yeah. Now shush I need to concentrate." he said holding up a hand. Rin rolled her eyes.

"I'm done now right, I can leave?"

"Yeah yeah whatever." Kankurō said waving his hand.

"Good luck." Rin said. Kankurō made a face and waved his hand again. Rin shook her head and left the bathroom.

* * *

 **I always wondered how Kankurō leaving with crow helped him and I remembered how he came back late so I figured this is what would've happened just with Rin added. Again she's never been shown using her weapons but she has them, they're just in a pouch on her hip. They're retractable. If anyone doesn't know what they look like already just think cat claws that go out about a foot or so.**

 **ALSO BEFORE ANYONE ASKS/ complains: I know she hasn't mastered the summoning technique yet but it is what she does most of the time(and she has been training for a month). Since she doesn't have a team when she does fight/train she calls two cats to help her. I know there have been no fights so far but this isn't an action story. When there is an action scene I will do my best.**

 **Also I know I should have mentioned her weapons in the story beforehand but I hadn't thought of them until last night when I made the card.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 **SNicole25: Yep. I never said if Rin knows about the invasion so that's still in the air on whether she knows or not. It's probably gunna be not… idk yet. It's subject to change.**

 **Sorry this took forever.**

* * *

 _If I told you what I was,  
Would you turn your back on me?  
And if I seem dangerous,  
Would you be scared?_

 _-Monster – Imagine Dragons_

Rin waited outside on a tree swing for the first exam to be over. After about another half hour of waiting, people started leaving the building. She saw red hair and ran over.

"Did you guys pass?" Rin asked as she walked next to the three.

"Yep." Kankurō said. "And you doubted us."

"I doubted _you_. There's a difference." Rin said. Kankurō frowned. "I knew you two could do it." Rin said to Temari and Gaara. Temari smiled at her. Rin cupped her hands around her mouth and went up on her toes pretending to whisper something to Gaara. He leaned his head down slightly and blinked when he felt her kiss by his cheek. Rin pulled back and smiled at him before looking at Temari. "When's the next part?" she asked.

"It's tomorrow. Baki'll tell us where to go in the morning." Temari said.

"Great!" Rin said.

"You can't help with the next exam." Baki said to Rin as the four walked up to him.

"I have no idea what you could possibly be talking about." Rin said looking away. Kankurō face palmed.

"You'll be waiting with me until they complete it." Baki said.

" _Okay_." Rin whined but smiled at Gaara. "I'm sure I won't be waiting long."

* * *

The next morning all the candidates who'd passed the first part of the exam met outside of a fenced off area with huge trees. On the fence gate was a sign that said 'restricted area' as well as many chains and locks keeping it closed. There was even a paper seal.

"Wow nice place, what is it?" Naruto asked.

"This is the location for the second phase of the exam." Anko, the second exam proctor, said. "It's the 44th battle training zone. But we call it… the forest of death."

"Forest of…death?" Naruto asked.

"This whole place just creeps me out." Sakura said.

"It should, they call it the forest of death, and soon enough you're gunna find out why." Anko said. Naruto made a face and mocked Anko.

"They call it the forest of death, and soon enough you're gunna find out why." He said in a high voice. "Do your worst you're not gunna scare me away! I can handle anything!"

"So, looks like we've got ourselves a tough guy."Anko said closing her eyes in a smile. She suddenly threw a kunai at him. It gave him a cut on his cheek as it sailed past his ear. She appeared behind him "You tough enough to handle this? You're not afraid are you?" She put her hand on his face. "Tough guys like you usually leave their blood all over this forest." She took out another kunai as a ninja with an extremely long tongue held out the kunai she'd thrown before with said tongue.

"I was just returning your knife."

"Why thank you grass ninja." Anko said. "You know, I really only recommend you stand his close behind me if you wish to reach a premature end." Anko took the kunai back and the ninja's tongue slithered back into their mouth. Rin moved closer to Gaara with a grimace.

"My pardon. With the sight of blood and your blade slicing through my hair, I'm afraid that I just became a little excited. I meant you no harm." The ninja said.

"Likewise." Anko said as the extremely creepy ninja walked away. Naruto looked around Anko, holding a hand to his cheek, and started sticking his tongue out to see if he could do it too. "Seems like everyone here today is quick tempered. There must be something in the air. This is gunna be fun." She walked to the gate. "Now before we begin this test I've something to hand out to you all." She turned around and took something from inside her jacket. "It's just a standard consent form." She said holding up a stack of papers. "Before the test all of you are going to have to read over this form and then sign it."

"What for?" Naruto asked.

"Some of you may not come back from this test and I have to get your consent to that risk. Otherwise it would be my responsibility." She laughed. Everyone muttered amongst themselves. "Now, I'll explain what you'll be doing on this test. Here pass these out." She held out the papers to Naruto who took one and passed the stack to the guy next to him. "The first thing you need to know is that this test will test every one of your survival skills." Anko held open a scroll with a map. "First I'll give you all a description of the terrain on the practice field. The 44th battle training zone has 44 locked entrance gates; there are rivers and a forest inside. In the center is a locked tower located 10 kilometers from each gate. It's in this confined area that you'll undergo the survival test." She rerolled the scroll. "The test consists of…" She put the scroll away in her jacket. "An anything goes battle to get your hands on these scrolls." She held up a white scroll and a black scroll.

"Both of them." Sasuke asked.

"Yes." She showed the symbols on each. "You'll be fighting to get both a heavens scroll and an earth scroll. All together 25 teams will be taking part in this test. So half of those teams will be going after the heavens scroll and the other half will be trying to get the earth scroll. I'll hand over one kind of scroll to each team and that's what you'll be vying for."

"Okay, so how do we pass the test?" Sasuke asked.

"Your entire squad must bring both a heaven and earth scroll to the tower."

"That means at the very best half of us will fail." Sakura said. "More if not every team is able to get both the scrolls."

"No one ever said it would be easy." Anko said. "Oh and one more thing, the test has a time limit. You must finish it within five days.

"Five days out there?!" Ino asked.

"What are we supposed to do for food?!" Chouji asked.

"Just look around." Anko said. "The forest is full of things to eat, there's plenty to feed all of you."

"Yeah but," Kabuto glanced at Chouji. "That's not all the forest has plenty of; there are man-eating beasts and poisonous plants in there."

"Oh maaan." Chouji whined.

"Quiet down," Ino said. "This is why they call it survival you know."

"That means with these circumstances there's no way half the teams will pass the test." Neji said.

"With the days getting longer, the nights are getting shorter so we will have less time to sleep and less time to recover." Lee said before smiling. "It is a challenge indeed!"

"Completely surrounded by enemies there won't be time to rest we'll have to keep a constant watch." Sasuke said.

"Right." Anko said. "This test also measures endurance behind enemy lines. This is designed to be a grueling test and I'm sure some of you won't be up to the challenge."

"So um," Shikamaru raised his hand. "Let's say mid-exam can we quit?"

"Of course not. In the middle of a battle you can't say 'sorry I quit'." She smiled. "Well I guess you could but it's probably gunna get ya killed."

"Oh just _great._ " Shikamaru said. "This is gunna be a drag."

"There are also some ways you can get disqualified. The first is simple." Anko held up a finger. "If all three members of a team can't make it to the tower with both scrolls after five days. Number two:" She held up a second finger. "If a team loses a member or if a member becomes incapacitated and cannot continue. But most important, none of you absolutely none of you may look at the contests of the scrolls until you've reached the tower."

"W-What if it just happens to flap open and you read it?" Naruto asked.

"Let me put it to you this way young man: You. Don't. Want. To. Know." Naruto made a face and whined. "There will be times when a ninja will be asked to carry secret documents the scroll rule is to test your integrity. Okay we're done. Each team take your contest forms and exchange them over there," Anko pointed to a small booth with three ninja. "For your scrolls. After that, each team pick a gate and you'll be let inside." Anko sighed. "Oh and I have one more word of advice: Just don't die!"

…

Everyone separated to read and sign the forms. The ninjas by the booth pulled a curtain closed around it. That way each team didn't know which team had which scroll or who was carrying it and where.

"Alright everyone, we're gunna start handing out scrolls!" One of the ninja at the booth called out before he went behind the curtain. Everyone stood and team by team went in. When the sand sibs got their scroll Rin ran up to them.

"I'm gunna walk with you to your gate." Rin said. Baki cleared his throat. "I'm just gunna walk with them." she whined with a pout.

"Trust me; Gaara won't let her come with us." Temari said. Baki sighed.

"Fine." he said. Rin jumped up and down before walking with the trio.

"Listen up, all the teams have received their scrolls so everybody go to your gate and wait there!" Anko called. "When the gates open the test is on!"

…

The trio and Rin stood in front of their gate. Rin gave Gaara a quick peck on the cheek.

"Good luck." She said. Gaara nodded silently. Rin walked up to Kankurō. "Don't die." Kankurō looked offended. Rin moved to Tamari. "Don't let Kankurō die." Kankurō rolled his eyes.

"Shut up." Kankurō muttered before avoiding the glare Gaara sent him.

"I'll see you guys later." Rin said with a smile before walking over to Baki. The two transported away.

"Alright heads up you maggots the second part of the test has begun!" Anko shouted. The gates opened and the three ran in.

* * *

Gaara, Temari and Kankurō stopped in a clearing with three other ninja.

"Do you believe the nerve of these sand village ninja, Shibure? Challenging us head on?" One of the ninja asked.

"Yeah, they're a bunch of fools." The other said.

"Too bad, kids." Shibure said. "You should've picked your opponents better. Now you're all gunna die!"

"I've heard enough out of you." Gaara said. "Let's make this quick; I don't wanna waste time on this guy." Shibure's eyes widened.

"Hey, Gaara." Kankurō said. "Doesn't it make more sense to follow these punks and gather information first? I-I mean if they have the same type of scroll as us we're just fighting an unnecessary battle."

"I don't care." Gaara said. "They looked at me the wrong way. So they're gunna die."

"If you think you can kill us," Shibure took six umbrellas off his back. "then try it!" He threw the umbrellas into the air before putting his hands together. "And now, ninja art: Senbon rain storm!" The umbrellas started spinning and shooting out needles. "Up, down, left , right, no matter where you go I can get you. There's no blind spot in this jutsu and it's deadly accurate!" Gaara didn't move an inch as te needles rained down. Dirt kicked up as they hit but as the dust cleared it was revealed that Gaara's sand had shielded him. From the opening in the sand he glared at the ninja.

"Is that all you can do?" he asked.

"It can't be! Not one wound. Impossible." He put his hands together again. "Alright!" The senbon shot down at the opening but sand came up to block them.

"A senbon rainstorm, huh?" Gaara asked. "I have an idea; let's make it rain blood instead."

"He's created a wall of sand." Shibure said.

"That's right," Kankurō said. "It's a defense and nothing can get through it. He carries around all that sand in the gourd that he has on his back and when he's attacked he uses the power of his chakra to harden the sand. It's a jutsu that only Gaara can do." Kankurō said as the sand wall fell slowly. "And somehow it happens automatically, independent of his will, so any attacks against him are doomed to fail."

"Yeah? Well we'll see!" Shibure shouted.

"Just face it; you guys can't hope to defeat Gaara." Kankurō said.

"Give me a break!" Shibure said before running at them. Gaara extended his arms to his sides before bringing his hands together in a triangle. Temari and Kankurō smirked

"Sand coffin!" Gaara said extending his hand. The sand wrapped around Shibure's leg and soon engulfed him, only his face was uncovered.

"I can't move!" The umbrellas Shibure had thrown earlier hit the ground, the points sinking into the dirt, around the sand sibs. "Let- let me go!" Gaara took a few steps forward and grabbed one of the umbrellas.

"All I have to do it cover your big mouth and you'll be dead." He opened the umbrella and held it over his head. "But that would be too easy, too boring." He extended his arm and the sand started to rise. Shibure grunted and tried to get free as he went higher and higher. Gaara closed his hand. "Sand burial!" Shibure screamed as his body was crushed by the sand, his blood rained down on his team mates and Gaara's umbrella. When it stopped Gaara looked up. "There wasn't any pain. I crushed him with more force than necessary so it was over quickly."

"Just take the scroll." One of the ninja said taking from his pocket and putting it on the ground before backing up. "Go on, here."

"Yes, take it!" The other said. "Please spare us!" Gaara threw the umbrella to the side and extended his hands. Sand completely engulfed the two before he closed his fists.

"We got lucky, it's a heaven scroll." Kankurō said picking up the scroll. "Alright, now let's head to the tower."

"Just shut up." Gaara growled.

"Huh?" Kankurō blinked. "Come on, Gaara, let's go."

"What? Are you scared? Coward." Gaara said. Kankurō started walking over.

"Look, Gaara, I know this test is no problem for you, but it's dangerous for Temari and me. One set of scrolls is good enough. It's all we need to pass."

"Losers can't tell me what to do." Gaara said holding out his arm. Kankurō grabbed Gaara by the strap that held his gourd.

"Alright that's enough; sometimes you have to listen to what your big brother says!"

"It's too bad I don't think of you as my big brother at all. If you get in my way, I'll kill you." Gaara knocked Kankurō's hand off him and held out his arm again.

"Wait, just hold on, Gaara." Temari said with her hands up. "You don't' have to treat us like we're the enemy. Look, do it as a favor for your sister, please." Gaara extended his arm to face Kankuro then swung his arm out to the side again. Sand started to swirl. "Gaara!" He closed his fist and was holding the cork to his gourd.

"Alright, this time." Gaara said before putting the cork back in the gourd. He started to walk away but stopped and turned his head to the side. "If either of you breathe a word of this to Rin," Gaara growled. "I'll kill you both… _slowly_." The two older siblings audibly gulped but nodded. Gaara started walking again and the two let out relived sighs.

* * *

 **I didn't reread this for errors so if there are any big mistakes please tell me ^_^ I've already started working on chapter 20 Let me know what you think.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 **Ouat-in-vampirediaries: Don't worry, moments like that will come ^^**

 **(guest) alice: google translate said that meant "strongly after" I don't know what that means o-o**

* * *

 _I'll be your keeper for life as your guardian  
I'll be your warrior of care, your first warden  
I'll be your angel on call, I'll be on demand  
The greatest honor of all as your guardian_

 _-Guardian - Alanis Morissette_

"Where's Rin?" Temari asked looking around as the three entered the tower.

"Hey twerp!" Kankurō called. Temari swatted his arm. " _Ow!_ What was that for?" he grumbled.

"Hey guys!" Rin called as she ran over. "You did that so fast!" She said with a big smile. "I knew I wouldn't have to wait long." she smiled. "No one's hurt right?" The two older siblings shook their heads. "Great!"

"So what do we do here?" Kankurō asked. Rin shrugged.

"Just hang out I guess. There's a hallway of rooms for the teams that make it."

"Sweet; I'm taking a nap." Kankurō said. "Lead the way, twerp." Rin rolled her eyes but lead them to the hallway with the doors. "There're only five rooms." Kankurō said.

"Guess they don't expect a lot of teams to finish." Temari said. She opened the first door and the four went inside. Rin sat down on the bed at the end of the room; it was the only unmade bed.

"This one's ours, Gaara." Rin said with a smile. Gaara walked over, put his gourd down at the end of the bed, and sat down next to her. Kankurō sat down on the middle bed but Gaara started glaring at him.

"Uh, Temari and I are gunna talk a look around and see what else there is." Kankurō said.

"I thought you were going to take a nap." Rin said tilting her head.

"I'm not tired anymore." Kankurō said. "Come on." he said walking past Temari.

"We'll be back later." Temari said before the two left, closing the door behind them. Rin shrugged and turned to hug Gaara.

"I missed you."

"I saw you an hour and a half ago." Gaara said one of his arms around her and a hand over one of hers.

"I know." Rin said with a small giggle and a shrug. "But I still missed you." She whispered as she closed her eyes.

"I missed you too." he said quietly rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. Ai meowed and put a paw on Gaara's knee. Gaara stared at it for a moment before he patted Ai's head twice. The cat rubbed his head against his hand as it started purring.

"Ai missed you too." Rin said with a smile as she took her arms from around him. Gaara frowned slightly. "I found a kitchen in the tower if you're hungry, well, actually Hayate found it when he was exploring."

"If you're hungry." Gaara said with a nod. Rin slipped her hand into his as they stood. He gave her hand a light squeeze and she smiled at him.

* * *

"Oh, I should make cupcakes for the teams that pass this part of the exams." Rin said as her eyes lit up. Gaara frowned.

"Why?" he asked as she looked inside a fridge. The 'kitchen' wasn't that big and had a small table with a few chairs around it.

"Cause I'm sure they'll be hungry too and I feel like making cupcakes."

"I doubt they have what you need here." Gaara said as he sat down in a chair.

"Awe, you're right." Rin said with a frown. "I'll just make them afterwards. Hmm… I wonder who would let me use their oven." Gaara sighed silently and shook his head.

…

"Just like I thought there' no other place to go!" Kankurō said.

"We've already waited half a day how much longer are they gunna make us wait?" Tamari asked.

"Think it's safe to go back to the room?" Kankurō asked. They entered a room and saw Team Eight. "Hm?" Kankurō and Tamari looked over at the three for a moment before walking into another hallway. "That's kid with the dog that chased Ai."

"Great. Well, if Ai goes missing we just have to look for the dog." Temari said. They walked a bit more and found Gaara and Rin in the kitchen. Rin was looking through cabinets trying to find something to make and Gaara was sitting at the table having a staring contest with Ai who was sitting in front of him. "Rin, Ai shouldn't be on the table." Temari said.

"Hm?" Rin turned to see them then looked at Ai with a frown. " _Ai_." Ai looked over and Gaara smirked slightly. Ai looked back at Gaara for a few seconds before jumping down from the table. He walked up to Rin and meowed loudly.

"I think he's mad you made him lose." Kankurō said with a slightly chuckle.

"I could get Hayate." Rin suggested looking down at Ai. Ai meowed again and jumped into the chair next to Gaara to lie down. "Didn't think so."

"What are you doing?" Temari asked.

"Trying to find something to eat." Rin said. "Well… something I can make."

"Let me help you." Temari said. Kankurō and Gaara exchanged a look.

"Hey, Temari," Kankurō said. "Why don't we go drop off Crow and your fan in the room."

"It was _one_ time." Temari said putting her hands on her hips.

"You _blew up_ the microwave." Kankurō said. Rin blinked.

"How'd you do that?" Rin asked.

"She was making popcorn." Kankurō said. Rin blinked and frowned.

"But there's a popcorn button." she said before she looked at Gaara who nodded.

"She's just bad luck in a kitchen." Kankurō said making Temari roll her eyes.

"I'm not bad luck in a kitchen. You never let me make anything again; it could have been a onetime thing." Temari said.

"We're not taking that chance." Kankurō said pushing her out of the room. "Let's go." The two heard Temari groan as the older two headed to the room.

"She can't be that bad. Maybe the microwave was broken already." Rin said.

"She also burnt tomato soup once." Gaara said.

"Tomato soup-…how did she… Seriously?" Rin asked with wide eyes. Gaara nodded.

"Kankurō had the flu and she was trying to be helpful."

"Yikes." Rin said before turning back to the cabinets. Suddenly Ai sat up and sniffed the air before running from the room. Gaara blinked.

"Um… Rin?" he asked.

"Hm?"

"Ai just ran out of the room."

"What?" Rin turned around. "Maybe Kiba and Akamaru finished the test."

"Who?"

"Kiba; he's the boy with the puppy." Rin said with a smile. Gaara frowned. "I'd better go get Ai."

"I'm sure Ai will come back soon." Gaara said standing quickly.

"The two are most likely running around like crazy." Rin said walking past him. Gaara's hand shot out and grabbed Rin's. "Hm?" She looked back at him. "Do you want to come with me?" she asked. Gaara nodded. "Okay." Rin said with a grin. "Let's go."

* * *

Rin followed the sound of barking to a room where Kiba was trying to stop Ai who was chasing Akamaru.

"Hey! Stupid cat!"

"Ai!" Rin called making the cat stop. Akamaru stopped and turned to see Rin and Gaara. The small dog whimpered and jumped into Kiba's coat. "Sorry about him." Rin said picking up Ai. Kiba swallowed hard and tore his eyes away from Gaara to give Rin a weak smile.

"No problem, it's fine." Kiba said with a nervous chuckle.

"Kiba, right?" Rin asked.

"Ye-yeah." he nodded. "You're uh… you're Rin."

"Uh-huh!" Rin smiled. "This is Gaara." she said turning to smile at him. Gaara quickly stopped glaring at the boy and turned to face Rin's smile with his normal blank expression.

"Hi." Kiba said. "It's uh- it's kinda late so-"

"Oh sorry, yeah you must be tired. Congratulations on finishing this part of the exam though." Rin said with a thumbs up. Kiba blinked.

"Thanks." he said. "I'll uh… see ya around." Kiba said before glancing at Gaara, who'd returned to glaring, before quickly leaving the room.

"He's nice." Rin said. Gaara didn't respond. "I'm actually kinda tired too. Let's go to bed." She slipped her hand into his and Ai jumped onto her shoulder. Gaara nodded and gave her hand a squeeze.

* * *

"Let's go see who else finished the test!" Rin said jumping up and down by the door.

"You go, we're tired." Kankurō said waving his hand from under the covers.

"We'll catch up later." Temari said into her pillow.

"Aw you two are no fun." Rin whined. "That's okay; Gaara will come with me." she said turning to smile at him. Gaara blinked and opened his mouth to respond but Rin started giving him puppy dog eyes. He closed his mouth and sighed before getting up. Rin grinned and grabbed his hand before pulling him from the room.

"I don't know how that girl does it." Temari said.

"She's the only thing he cares about besides himself." Kankurō said turning over.

…

"I wonder who finished." Rin said walking with her hands behind her back. Gaara walked beside her with his arms crossed. "I hope the leaf genin made it." Gaara looked at her with a frown. They walked towards the entrance and saw Lee walking in, looking all beat up, with a female ninja and another boy. Rin gasped and ran over. "Lee!" The boy and the girl frowned and took defensive stances as Rin approached. Lee held up a hand.

"It is okay." Lee said. "She is a friend."

"What happened? Are you okay?" Rin asked. Lee smiled and nodded.

"It was nothing we could not handle." Lee said. "These are my team makes. Tenten and Neji Hyuga."

"Oh, are you related to Hinata?" Rin asked. Neji frowned and turned his head away. Rin frowned.

"What's your name?" Tenten asked.

"Oh I'm Rin." Rin said with a smiled. "and this is Gaara." She turned to point to Gaara.

"I thought you said you were not competing?" Lee said.

"I'm not. My friends already finished; they were the first." Rin said. "I think it was an hour and a half."

"Impressive!" Lee said with wide eyes as he looked to Gaara. Gaara looked away with a blank expression. Rin smiled and nodded.

"I can show you where the rooms are so you can rest."

"That'd be awesome." Tenten said with a smile. "Thanks."

"No problem." Rin said as she stared to lead the team to the rooms.

"How do you know Lee?" Tenten asked. Gaara glanced over as he walked beside Rin, he had to admit he was curious too.

"Oh my cat Ai ran away the day of the first exam and Lee found him." Rin said.

"Where is Ai?" Lee asked as he looked around.

"Probably bothering Akamaru, Kiba's puppy." Rin said with a small shrug.

"You have a cat?" Tenten asked with a smile.

"Yep." Rin said. "If I can find him you can play with him."

"Cool." Tenten said. "I can help you look for him if you want."

"Sure." Rin said with a big smile. Gaara glanced over at the two smiling girls and frowned. He glanced at Lee and Neji. Neji was ignoring the two and Lee was silently listening with a small smile. Lee leaned forward slightly to look around Tenten.

"Would it be okay if _I_ joined you aswell?" he asked.

"Sure!" Rin said. Gaara frowned deeply.

* * *

Ai rubbed against Tenten's leg as she pet his head. Rin and Tenten were sitting in the kitchen with Lee across from them and Gaara leaning against the wall, glaring at the floor.

"He's so cute." she said. Ai meow loudly and started purring as Tenten picked him up. "Awe!" Rin smiled. "Where did you get him?" Tenten asked. Rin opened her mouth but stopped and glanced at Gaara.

"He was a present from a friend." Rin said making Gaara looked up from the ground and stared at her.

"Awesome." Tenten said. Gaara pushed off the wall and started to leave.

"Yeah he is." Rin said. Gaara hesitated by the door but then left.

* * *

Rin knocked on the door of their room before she peeked her head in.

"Gaara?" Rin called into the room softly. She saw him lying on their bed facing the wall. Rin closed the door behind her and walked over. "Are you mad at me?" Gaara didn't answer but shook his head. Rin frowned and kneeled on the bed behind him. "You sure?" He nodded. Rin bounced a bit on the bed. "Gaara." Rin smiled and gently pushed his shoulder. Gaara rolled over and looked up at Rin who was pouting. He frowned and reached up to touch her cheek.

"Smile." he whispered.

"Why did you leave?" Rin asked. Gaara looked away. "I only said a friend gave me Ai because I didn't want to embarrass you." Gaara looked back at her with one brow raised. "You don't seem like the kinda guy to give a girl a kitten." Rin said with a shrug.

"If that girl is you." he said quietly. Rin smiled and let herself fall onto him in a hug. He let out a soft 'omph' but wrapped his arms around her with a smile. "I'm not your pillow." he said.

"Mhm."

"Mm-mm." he hummed shaking his head. Rin lifted her head and rested her chin on his chest.

"Yeah-huh." she said.

"Nuh-uh." he said shaking his head again.

"Yeah-huh."

"Nuh-uh."

"Yeah-huh."

"Nuh-u-" Gaara blinked as Rin kissed his nose before she giggled. Gaara looked away as his cheeks went pink and Rin snuggled her head under his chin again. She smiled and let out a content sigh making Gaara smile and put a hand on her head.

"You think Naruto is okay?" Rin asked. Gaara frowned.

"Who?"

"The blond boy with the really pretty blue eyes." Rin said. Gaara clenched his teeth together. Rin let out a squeak as Gaara rolled them over. "Gaara you're heavy." she whined.

"Now you're my pillow." he said with a slight chuckle. Rin laughed.

"No." she half whined. "Get oooff." Gaara chuckled and turned them over again. Rin sucked in a big breath. "Air!" Gaara rolled his eyes.

"So dramatic." he said. Rin giggled and moved off to the side of Gaara. Gaara frowned and pulled her closer to him. She smiled up at him making his chest flutter.

* * *

 **Hey I know I haven't put up an update in a long while but don't worry I'm still working on this. I'm gunna work on the next chapter tonight too and probably post it within the week.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 **It just occurred to me now that the cat Rin summoned is named Hayate and so is the guy in this chapter the one who coughs a lot. I didn't know that when I named the cat.**

 **Song for this chapter is just for Hinata mostly but I tried to add some Rin moments. I won't be offended if you skim past the show events for this chapter. This chapter is VERY long. I took out Sasuke's match to try and make it shorter as well as some of Hinata's.**

* * *

 _You can take everything I have  
You can break everything I am  
Like I'm made of glass  
Like I'm made of paper  
Go on and try to tear me down  
I will be rising from the ground  
Like a skyscraper  
Like a skyscraper_

 _-Skyscraper – Demi Lovato_

* * *

The nine teams stood in lines in a room of the tower. Jounin and chunin stood around and the Hokage was in front of the genin teams. Behind him were more jounin and large stone hands making a hand sign. Rin stood up the stairs on the left side of the room. Gaara glanced up at her without moving his head and she gave a small wave to when their eyes met and he nodded his head ever so slightly.

The order of the lines was Team Ten with Ino in the lead, Team Eight with Kiba in front and Akamaru still shaking in Kiba's jacket, Team Seven with Naruto in front, Team Gai with Neji in front, Kabuto's team with him in front, the Sand Sibs with Gaara in front, then the sound ninjas with Dosu in front. The ninja behind him had both arms in a sling.

* * *

"First of all, congratulations on finishing the second exam." Anko said into a headset.

"I'm so hungry." Chouji said holding his stomach.

"What a drag there's so many left." Shikamaru said. "This is such a pain."

"Sasuke and his team have passed too." Ino said happily.

"Well of course they did." Shikamaru said. "After all the trouble we went through to keep them safe, they better have passed."

"Hey look, all of the leaf village rookies are here too." Sakura said.

"Whoa, everybody's here: old man Hokage, Iruka-Sensei and even bushy brow. It looks like absolutely nobody got left out this time." Naruto said.

"I don't have a very good feeling about this." Sasuke said holding his shoulder.

"Alright now pay attention." Anko said into her headset. "Lord Hokage is going to explain the third exam to you. You better listen carefully maggots." She turned to the Hokage. "Lord Hokage, they're all yours."

"Hm." The Hokage stepped forward. He cleared his throat. "First, before I tell you what the third exam entails I want to explain something about the test itself; listen closely now, it's something that all of you need to understand. I'm going to tell you the true purpose of these exams. Why do you suppose our country holds these exams in conjunction with our allies? To raise the ability levels of our shinobi and increase friendship between allied nations to be sure but it's important that you understand its true meaning. The exams are, so to speak," He took the pipe out of his mouth and blew out smoke. "They're a representation between the battle between allied nations."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Tenten asked.

"Now, if we look at our history all the countries that we're currently allied with were once neighboring nations that continuously fought with each other for power. In order to avoid destroying each other's military strength meaninglessly those nations picked champions to do battle on behalf of their counties at a mutually selected location. That was how the Chunin Selection Exams originally began."

"Well, that's great but why do we have to go through these exams then?" Naruto asked. "I mean it's not like we're doing this to pick chunin to go fight."

"Well actually, there is no question that part of the point of these exams is to select shinobi worthy of becoming chunin, that's just not the whole story. These exams also allow for a place where shinobi can carry the pride of their nation on their backs and fight against other ninja for their very lives."

"The pride of their nation?" Sakura asked quietly.

"Many leaders and people of prominence from various counties are invited to attend this exam as guests and also possibly to seek shinobi to work for them. This exam could determine the course of your ninja work from here on out, and more importantly those rulers will watch your battles and take notes of the strengths of each ninja and each nation is developing. If there is a gap in power between the countries the strong nations are inundated with job requests for their ninja and conversely the request to countries that are deemed weak decline. Therefore, the stronger our nation is the better our position when it comes to negotiating with neighboring countries. So it's important to show how much military strength our village has."

"Okay but even so why is it necessary for us to risk our lives?" Kiba asked.

"The country's strength is the village's strength. The village's strength is the shinobi's strength. And the true strength of the shinobi is only achieved when it's pushed to its limits such as in a life and death battle. This exam is a chance for each nation to display the strength of its shinobi and hence the strength of the nation itself. It's because this is an exam where your life is on the line that it has meaning. And it's for this very reason and for the strength of the nation that your forerunners fought in this exam. It's truly a dream worth striving for."

"But then why did you use the expression friendship before?" Tenten asked.

"But you've only remembered half of what I said. You also mustn't have the wrong idea of the exams meaning. This is a custom in which balance is preserved by fighting and dying. In the world of the shinobi that _is_ friendship. The third exam is a fight for life with the pride of your village and your own dreams at state."

"Hmph, well he sure convinced me." Naruto said.

"Any test is fine." Gaara said. "Just tell me what the details of the exam are already. I can handle anything you throw at me." Rin smiled. Gaara glanced at her and actually had to hold make his own small smile at how proud she looked.

"Mm." The Hokage nodded once. "Very well then. Now listen closely I'm going to tell you exactly what you'll all be doing on the third exam." He coughed. A ninja suddenly dropped down out of nowhere and was kneeling before the Hokage.

"Lord Hokage." He said. "Before you do please allow me, Hayate Gekkō appointed as proctor of the third exam, to speak first."

"So be it." Hayate stood.

"It's nice to meet you all." He coughed. He turned his head to look at everyone. He had bags under his eyes. "There's something I would like all of you" He coughed some more. "to do before the third exam." He coughed. "Uhh, we have to have a preliminary exam before we can move on to the real one."

"Huh?"

"A what?" Sakura asked.

"Preliminary?!" Shikamaru shouted. "Just what do you mean by that?!"

"I'm sorry, sensei," Sakura said. "excuse me, but I really don't see the point. What's this preliminary all about? Why can't we just move on to the third exam?"

"Uhh, well you see… the first and second exams might have been too easy. The fact is we never expected so many of you to still be here. According to the rules of Chunin exams a preliminary round can be held at any stage in order to reduce the number of candidates remaining."

"But-! Is that fair?" Sakura asked.

"It's just that at this stage we have to speed things up a bit. As lord Hokage said, a lot of important guests will be watching. We can't afford to waste their time. They've come to see only the best. So if there are any of you who feel you are not in top physical condition, now's your chance to-" He coughed. "Sorry about that. As I was saying, any of you who don't feel up to this now is the time for you to bow out. The preliminaries will be starting immediately."

"Come on! You mean right now?!" Kiba shouted.

"We just finished barely surviving the last exam, don't we get a break?" Ino asked.

"Man, what a drag." Shikamaru said.

"Heeey, when do we eat?" Chouji asked. Naruto gulped.

"Oh yeah uh… the winners will be determined by one on one combat sudden death." Hayate said. "So like I said if there's anyone who doesn't feel up to it, now's the time to raise your hand." Sasuke suddenly grabbed his shoulder in pain.

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked. Naruto looked back at Sasuke. Sakura whispered to him. The jounin and the Hokage were talking about Sasuke. Sakura was trying to convince Sasuke to quit. She started to raise her hand but Kabuto raised his.

"What the-?" Kiba looked over.

"Okay, ya got me." Kabuto said. "I'm out."

"But- Kabuto." Naruto said. Hayate flipped through papers on his clipboard. He coughed.

"Kabuto Yakushi, the leaf village right? Okay you can go on and step back."

"Gottcha." Kabuto said and walked past his teammates towards the back.

"Kabuto! Hold on a second you can't quit!" He stopped as Naruto shouted at him. "I don't get this! What's going on?!"

"Oh Naruto, I'm sorry, but my body is just too beat up." Kabuto said. "I can't hack it. The fact is, ever since orientation with that dust up with the sound village genin, I've had no hearing at all in my left ear. And now to have to put my life on the line? To fight again right away without a break? I can't do it." Naruto looked down. One of Kabuto's teammates, Yoroi, whispered to him. They had a short and quiet conversation before Kabuto continued walking away. He turned to wave at Naruto with a smile. Some of the ninja watched him walk away. His steps echoed until they faded. Hayate coughed.

"Now then, does anybody else wanna quit?" He asked. Sakura started to raise her hand but Sasuke grabbed her wrist. Sasuke let go but continued to talk to her. Naruto suddenly yelled at Sasuke and Sasuke told him something that left Naruto speechless. Rin frowned as she watched the three. "Alright then, we'll now begin the preliminary round." Hayate said. "This round will consist of one on one individual combat at full battle intensity. This is not an exercise. The surviving candidates from these matches will advance to the third exam. As for the rules there are none; you will fight until one dies or concedes defeat or is rendered physically incapable of continuing the contest. Naturally those who are losing are urged to concede defeat promptly to avoid a fatal outcome. Furthermore, as proctor I'm given a certain amount of leeway in judging the matches." He coughed some. "I might occasionally intervene if a match seems hopeless to save as many lives as possible. Now it's time to reveal what fate has been chosen for you." He looked back at Anko who nodded.

"Open the panel." she said into her mic. A large blue panel in the top left corner was raised.

"The names of each pair of opponents are chosen completely at random. Before each match these names will appear on the display behind me. As there's nothing more to say let's begin. In a moment the names of the first two opponents will appear." Everyone was looking up. The screen blinked on and circled through names until it stopped with a buzz. Sasuke smirked.

"I couldn't ask for anything more." Yoroi said.

"Alright now those whose names have been drawn come forward." Hayate said. Sasuke and Yoroi walked over then faced each other. "You have been chosen for the first match. Yorio Akado and Sasuke Uchiha are there any objections.

"None here." Sasuke said.

"No." Yoroi said.

"Uhh, alright then, let's begin the first match." Hayate said. He coughed. "Okay, everyone other than the two opposing candidates will now clear the area and move to the upper level." Everyone turned and walked up the stairs. Naruto and his team stayed put and Kakashi walked over to them said a few words then walked away. The sand and sound ninja, as well as Kabuto's team mates, went on one side and the leaf on the other. Rin smiled at the sand siblings before turning to look at everyone on the other side. She recognized Lee and waved at him. Lee waved back with a small smile. Gaara frowned and looked over from Rin to Lee. The jounin next to Lee was wearing the same jumpsuit and had the same haircut. He pointed over at Rin and talked to the boy. Gaara could hear them from where he was.

"Is that the blue haired maiden you told me about?" The man asked.

"Yes Gai sensei." Lee said.

"Ah the beauty of young love! Have you asked her out yet?" Gai asked as he nudged Lee with his elbow.

"G-Gai sensei!" Lee's eyes went wide. Gaara started glaring at the two. Gai laughed.

"I'm sure you'll impress her today, Lee!" Gai said slapping Lee on the back. Lee's face went bright red.

"No! It's not like that!" Lee insisted as he held up his hands. Rin turned to Gaara after seeing the green clad boy freaking out across the room.

"What do you thinks bothering him?" Rin asked. Gaara didn't answer.

…

 **Shino Aburame**

 **VS**

 **Zaku Abumi**

The sound ninja with the two broken arms smirked.

"Ha, which sucker is that?" He asked. Shino looked at him.

"Step forward please." Hayate said. The two went down and faced each other. "Very good. Now if you're both ready then we'll begin."

"How's he supposed to fight with two broken arms?" Akira asked allowed. Akio shrugged.

"Candidates ready? Begin." Hayate said backing up. Neither moved.

"If you fight me you won't be able to recover." Shino warned. "Forfeit and withdraw."

"Heh, well what do you know, I've got a little movement in one of them." Zaku said moving his left arm. "One good arms more than enough to beat you!" He ran at him with his left arm out of the sling. He swung but Shino blocked him.

"You couldn't beat me using both your arms."

"Yeah well I've got news for ya!" The thing on his palm started to make a sound. "Try this! Blastic sound wave!" There was a large puff of smoke as Shino got hit and rolled on impact with the ground. The smoke started to clear. "Alright _fool_ , you had enough? Huh?" Shino was standing as the smoke cleared. "He's there's no way!" Suddenly there was a weird sound. "Hey… what?" Bugs were coming out of the top of Shino's jacket and through three holes on Shino's face. "Great, now that you've creeped us all out what happens next?" Suddenly Zaku heard the noise from behind him and saw a large swarm of bugs on the ground coming towards him. Rin shivered and moved closer to Gaara. He glanced down at her as their arms touched and he had to resist the urge to put his arm around her.

"They're a rare species of parasitic beetles that attack their prey in a swarm, eating its chakra." Shino said as he held one on his fingernail. "An army of this size will suck you dry in less than a minute. Your only intelligent option is to forfeit the match. You can't fight two opponents at once. If you use your good arm against me my _friends_ will swarm you from behind. Conversely, if you use your good arm to keep _them_ at bay then you'll have _me_ on your blind side. Either way your defeat will be certain and unpleasant. It's wise to always have an ace in the hole." Shino made a hand sign and held it up. Zaku looked extremely angry and raised his arm, opening his palm.

"Now you've done it! Now you've made me mad!" He shouted as he pointed his other arm at the bugs. Shino lowered his hands. Zaku's right arm shook his he opened his palm. "Like you said yourself, always have an ace in the hole. Right!?"

"What the-? I thought his right arm was shot." Kiba said. Zaku let out an angry cry. "I'll blow you away!" Suddenly the middle of his arms were glowing blue like something was leaking from them. "Arg! My arms! What's wrong with them?!" He cried as he let his arms hang. He looked at his hands in shock. "W-what?!" Shino's bugs were on his hands and in the hole on his palm. Shino was suddenly behind him.

"Earlier while I was distracting you with my helpful advice I was also sending some of my little friends to plug up those bothersome wind-holes in your hands. Both hands just to be sure. See while an ace in the hole is good, two aces are better." Zaku went to hit Shino but Shino knocked him away to the ground. Hayate walked over and crouched by Zaku. There were holes in his arms where the wind had blown out.

"I'd say this one… has had it." Hayate said. "The winner is Shino Aburame." Zaku was taken away on a stretcher while Shino returned to his team. "Uh, alright everyone, moving right on to the third match." Kakashi returned to his team. The screen blinked.

 **Misumi Tsurugi**

 **VS**

 **Kankurō**

Rin turned to Kankurō with a big smile.

"Good luck, Kankurō." she said.

"Like I'll need it." Kankurō scoffed as he walked past her and down the stairs with Misumi. They stood in front of each other.

"I'm not like Yoroi; I don't get careless, not even against kids." Misumi said. Kankurō scoffed. "A piece of advice once I go into my jutsu give up, quick, if you do I promise to make it short and painless."

"Funny." Kankurō said as he took crow off his back. "I was about to say the same thing. Though I can't promise it'll be painless."

"Alright if you're ready let the third match begin." Hayate said.

"Lemme do you a favor and end this battle quickly." Kankurō said.

"You can't end I if I end it first." Misumi said. Misumi attacked but Kankurō managed to block him. Suddenly Misumi's limbs wrapped around Kankurō's and his arm went around Kankurō's neck.

"Whoa! What's up with that guy's body?" Naruto asked. "That's freaky! I wish I could do that."

"I dislocate every one of my joints and soften my body then with my chakra I can control it perfectly. The more you struggle the tighter I'll squeeze. I don't know what you're carrying in there," Misumi said looking at the fallen crow still wrapped up. "but as long as I have a hold yon you it makes no difference. I could break your neck right now if I wanted to and I will unless you give up." Kankurō smirked.

"You wanna bet?" he asked.

"You wanna die?"

"You fool, you're the one who's gunna die." Kankurō said. Suddenly Misumi tightened his arm around Kankurō's neck and Kankurō's head fell forward.

"I think he broke... his neck." Lee said. Naruto and Sakura gasped. Gaara rolled his eyes. Chips of wood suddenly fell to the ground.

"Huh?" Suddenly Misumi gasped as 'Kankurō's head spun around to reveal Crow's cracked face.

"Now, it's my turn so say goodbye!" it said. Its arms shot out and wrapped around Misumi. Kankurō's arm popped out of the 'crow' on the ground and he unwrapped himself. One of his hands was glowing blue as chakra strings went from his hand to Crow. Crow's arms tightened and Misumi groaned in pain.

"Enough! I give!"

"But if your bones are all crushed just think of how much more flexible you'll be." Kankurō said. Hayate coughed as Misumi fell over.

"Because his opponent is unable to continue, the winner is Kankurō.

"Two against one is hitting below the belt isn't it?" Naruto asked. "I mean, is that thing even far, Kakashi-sensei?"

"It's not really two against one; it's a puppet, not another ninja." Kakashi explained to him. Kankurō walked back up to stand with the others.

"Told you I wouldn't need it." Kankurō said to Rin as he came to stand next to Temari.

* * *

Rin looked down at Neji and Hinata. They were fighting hand to hand. Their Byakugan were activated. Hinata went to strike and the two stopped. Hinata suddenly coughed up blood.

"So that's in huh? That's all there is to the main branch's power?" Neji asked.

"Wait what is going on?! I mean I saw Hinata hit Neji perfectly!" Naruto said. Hinata hit Neji's arm away and went to hit him but he caught her arm and poked it with two fingers. He pushed Hinata's sleeve up and there were red dots on her arm.

"B-But you mean-? All this time you…" She said.

"That's right, I could see your chakra points the whole time." Neji said.

"What is he talking about?" Naruto asked. Kakashi explained chakra points to him and Sakura. Neji hit Hinata and she flew back and slid on the ground.

"Look Hinata, I'm completely out of your league and that won't change. This is what separates the elite from the failures." Hinata sat up panting and looked at him. "You may not like it but it's a fact. From the instant you said you wouldn't run anymore your fate was sealed you were destined for failure. And now, you're consumed with hopelessness." He started to walk over to her. "Now this is your last warning Hinata, forfeit this match."

"I…I…" Blood fell from her mouth and she clenched her fists. "I… never…" She struggled to get up. "Go back…" She started to stand. "on my word. Because that too is my nindo, _my_ ninja way." She stood completely and faced Neji.

"I had no idea that Hinata's as tough as she is." Naruto said.

"She is a lot like you." Lee said.

"You know, come to think of it, she is always watching you." Sakura said.

"Huh?" Naruto looked at her then back down at Hinata. Hinata was smiling then activated her Byakugan. Neji did the same.

"Bring it on." He said. Hinata suddenly put her hands to her chest in pain and coughed up more blood. Neji got into a stance with one hand up.

"Doesn't it seem like the difference in strength makes it unfair?" Sakura asked. "He's just way too strong. It's a mismatch, seriously." Naruto was gripping a thing of medical ointment that Hinata had given him.

"Go Hinata! You can do it!" Naruto shouted. Hinata ran at Neji and they started fighting. They both went to attack at the same time and Neji hit her first sending a blast of chakra. She coughed up blood and fell over.

"You just don't get it do you?" Neji asked her. "Your strikes were ineffective from the very start. You're finished." He walked away.

"It's too bad, but after that blow to the heart Hinata is done." Gai said. Naruto looked upset. Hinata wasn't moving. Hayate walked up to her.

"Since she's no longer able to continue this match-"

"No!" Naruto shouted cutting him off. "Don't stop this match!"

"Naruto, what on earth are you doing?" Sakura asked. "Hinata's had it. You can see she's unconscious can't you?" Naruto smirked and everyone looked shocked to see Hinata getting up slowly. She managed to stand but was still shaky and was holding herself with one arm.

"What do you think you're doing?" Neji asked. "If you continue to fight, you're going to die." He activated his Byakugan.

"I'm far from finished." Hinata said taking a few steps closer.

"Give up the tough guy act. I can tell you're barely standing." Neji said. "You've been carrying a very heavy burden having been born to the main branch of the Hyuuga clan. And you've cursed and blamed yourself for being weak. But look, people can't change the way they are, that's just how it is. Just accept defeat and you won't have to suffer anymore."

"No, you're wrong brother, you've got it backwards. You see I can tell that you're the one; you're suffering much more than I."

"I'm what?"

"You are the one who's all torn up about the fate of the main and side branches of the Hyuuga clan." Neji looked pissed and ran at Hinata.

"Neji no! The match is over!" Hayate shouted as he started running to stop him. Suddenly Gai was holding Neji back, Kakashi had a hand on his arm while Kuranai held his other and Hayate had two fingers on Neji's forehead.

"Neji, get a hold of yourself." Gai said. "You promised me you wouldn't let this whole head family thing get you riled up."

"Why are you and the other Jounin butting in? The head family gets special treatment huh?" Suddenly Hinata fell forward and started coughing up blood. Kuranai ran over to her.

"Hinata!" She put a hand on her back. "Hinata."

"Hinata!" Naruto shouted as he, Lee, and Sakura jumped over the railing before running over. "Hinata, you okay?" Naruto crouched next to her. "Hey!"

"Na-Naruto…I just…I…do you…" She ended on a whisper before her eyes closed.

"Hey you, loser." Neji said.

"Hm?" Naruto looked over at him.

"I have two pieces of advice for you." Neji said. "First of all: If you intend to call yourself a shinobi, stop that stupid cheering of yours it's disgraceful. And second: once a failure, always a failure. You can't change that." Naruto stood.

"We'll just see about that." Naruto ran at him but Lee stopped him. "What are you doing?"

"Naruto, I get where you are coming from believe me but, the rules say all fighting must be done officially in a match. A loser beating a genius through sheer willpower, now would not that make for an exciting match, even if I am the one who is going to have to fight Neji. Of course if you ending up fighting him that is fine too."

"Alright fine, you win Lee." Naruto said turning around and walking back to Hinata. Lee gave a thumbs up to Gai who gave one back. Hinata coughed up blood again. Kuranai unzipped her coat and put a hand on her chest and one on her neck. Kuranai glared at Neji.

"I wouldn't waste your time glaring at me when you really should be taking care of her." Neji said.

"Get a medic! And hurry up!" Kuranai shouted.

"We're coming." One said as they ran over. They rolled out the stretcher. "She has no pulse." Naruto ran over.

"This is very serious. She's got ten minutes at best. Let's get her to the emergency room now!" They put her on the stretcher and started to take her away.

"Stand back." Naruto watched them.

"Hinata." He said quietly. "Hinata, I give you my word." He crouched and put his fingers in her blood before standing up and facing Neji. He held out his closed fist and blood dripped. "I vow to win."

* * *

 **I know that was a VERY long chapter and it was mostly show events which is why I'll be posting another chapter later today…tonight… in a few hours.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 _Time goes by so slowly  
And time can do so much  
Are you still mine?  
I need your love_

 _-Unchained Melody - The Righteous Brothers_

* * *

A cleaning guy came in to clean up Hinata's blood and Kankuro went down the stairs and walked up to Naruto who was standing by himself leaning against the railing.

"Ahhh! Now you're talking! All you can eat! Bring it ooooooon!" Chouji suddenly shouted. Hayate coughed and everyone looked over at him.

"Now then, we'll continue the competition." He said.

"Alright! This time you'll be picked I just know it." Gai said to Lee giving him a thumbs up. "You ready Lee?"

"No." Lee said turning away.

"Huh?"

"I have been waiting so long, I do not care. I might as well go last." The names on the board started changing. They stopped Gaara used his sand to transport down. Rin leaned on the railing with a big excited smile. Gaara glanced up at her before looking forward and waiting for Lee to join him.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Chouji screamed. " _Safe again_!"

"Stop that!" Ino said hitting him on the head.

"You want everyone to know you're a chicken?" Shikamaru asked also hitting him.

"Lee." Sakura looked over at him after seeing his name on the board.

"It worked like a charm." Lee said after kicking. "I knew if I said I wanted to be last I would be next!" He kept kicking the air. "I simply applied the principal which states that sometimes the surest way to hit something is to stop trying to hit it." He started punching the air. "It is a form of reverse psychology!"

"Huu-ah! That's my student." Gai said.

"I was absolutely not going to be last no matter what! Ha ha! I sure fooled them did I not?" Lee asked.

"Now then, listen carefully." Gai said. Lee stopped punching. "A piece of advice before you begin."

"Sir." Lee saluted. Gai leaned closer to Lee and whispered.

"Look, you see that gourd that Gaara's wearing? Watch out, there's something weird about it."

"Good advice sir."

"Don't write it down!" Gai said when Lee started writing it on a paper. "What are you thinking? After all you're not going to have any time to read any notes during the match are you?"

"Ah, more good advice." Lee said before writing it down.

"Now Rock and Roll!" Gai shouted pointing.

"Yeah!" Lee shouted before vaulting over the railing to the floor. Lee took up his stance. "I knew that sooner or later we would have to meet and I am glad it is sooner." Gaara just started at him.

"I hope Gaara doesn't hurt him too bad." Rin said with a small frown. Temari looked at her.

"I'm sure the kid'll be… fine." Temari said.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Lee asked after catching something. He dropped the cord to Gaara's gourd.

"Alright then." Hayate said. "If you are both ready… begin!" Lee ran at Gaara and jumped up.

"Ah! Leaf Hurricane!" He kicked but Gaara's sand blocked it before getting bigger. "huh?" Lee jumped away while flipping to avoid it. The sand went back into the gored.

"What is that?" Ino asked.

"It's sand." Sakura said. Lee ran at him again and sand came out. Gaara remained motionless, his arms still crossed. Lee jumped and kicked but the sand blocked him. He kept attacking but the sand kept blocking. He heard it behind him and took out a kunai. He sliced at the sand as it attacked him then tried to kick. He rolled out of the way of the sand multiple times. Before jumping up and throwing kunai at the side of Gaara's head. The sand stopped them.

"Wow." Naruto said as he watched.

"Even as fast as he is, Lee can't get anywhere close to him." Sakura said.

"The sand, he's using it as a shield." Naruto said.

"He's not doing it." Kankurō said. "The sand is protecting him of its own accord."

"Huh?"

"It's almost like a living thing." Kankurō said. "It'll come to Gaara's defense without his doing anything. That's why Gaara's never been injured. No one can get at him. No one's ever even been able to touch him." Kankurō said. Gaara looked up at Rin and saw her bouncing on her feet with a big smile. He couldn't help but smirk briefly.

"Well, is that all?" Gaara asked turning back to look at Lee. "I hope you haven't finished entertaining me. We haven't had enough… fun." Gaara lifted his head and the sand came at Lee. It grabbed him around his leg before swinging him around. It threw him against the wall and Lee slid down. It came at him again but he dodged to the side and ran at Gaara before trying to punch him. Gaara looked up towards Rin and expected to see a smile but Rin had her hands over her mouth slightly and looked worried for Lee. Gaara grit his teeth together. She was supposed to be supporting _him_ ; she shouldn't care about some leaf ninja she barely knew. Lee back-flipped away from the sand but then he slipped on it and fell. Gaara heard Rin gasp and shot a glare at Lee. The sand came at Lee and covered him.

"It's over." Shikamaru said. Sakura looked up to see Lee flipping in the air way up high. He landed on top of the hand statue.

"A ninja who can do neither ninjutsu or genjutsu is certainly a rarity. Lee has only his taijutsu to rely on. Some might consider that a disadvantage, but that's what makes him a winner." Gai said.

"Huh?" Sakura sounded even more confused.

"Alright Lee, take'em off." Gai said giving him a thumbs up. Lee look over and saluted.

"Uh, but Gai sensei, you said that was only as a last resort when the lives of very important people were at stake." Lee said.

"That's right I did, but this is an exception." Gai said.

"Really?" Lee asked a smile forming on his face. "Really?" He sounded excited. Lee sat on the statue and pulled off his orange leg warmers to reveal leg weights.

"Huh? Are those..?" Ino asked.

"How old fashioned." Shikamaru said.

"Totally cool." Naruto said.

"Totally dumb." Kankurō said.

"Ah that is better." Lee said holding each leg weight and standing. "Now I will be able to move freely." He dropped the weights. When they hit the ground it was like an explosion had gone off. The whole room shook. Everyone looked shocked.

"Alright! Now go!" Gai shouted.

"Yes Sir!" Lee said and suddenly he was gone. Gaara blinked and looked surprised. Lee was suddenly behind him and punched. Lee punched through the sand but didn't hit Gaara. Gaara looked shocked and had uncrossed his arms. Lee was suddenly on the other side of him and kicked. Gaara's head moved as Lee kicked because the sand had just barely stopped Lee's foot. Gaara looked to where Lee had been and Lee suddenly punched coming an inch away from his face. Lee ran around Gaara and punched and kicked. Lee suddenly punched with a cry and his fist went past Gaara's face.

"Close!" Sakura said with a smile. Gaara looked around as Lee seemed to blink around him kicking and punching. Temari looked over at Rin to see the girl watching with wide eyes.

"I could see that Lee had no aptitude for ninjutsu or genjutsu," Gai said. "so we skipped them and focused all of his time and energy into developing taijutsu. That way we turn his disadvantage into a blessing. Now he doesn't need those other things to win because he's transformed himself into the world's greatest taijutsu specialist." Lee was running around Gaara who was trying to see where he was. Lee jumped up and brought his foot down and kicked Gaara's head down which caused Rin to let out a squeak. Lee slide away and looked up with a smirk and Gaara looked in pain and annoyed.

"Wow, that's scary." Naruto said. "And I thought he was quick on his feet before. He's been that fast all this time?"

"Yes Lee!" Gai cheered. "Let the power of youth explode!"

"Right!" Lee shouted and ran at Gaara. Gaara raised a hand and sand came up to block. Lee was suddenly behind Gaara and kicked. Gaara whirled around. "Over here!" Gaara couldn't tell where Lee was. "No here!" Lee punched Gaara sending him to the ground.

"Gaara!" Rin shouted as she gripped the railing tightly.

"Good!" Gai said.

"He's just, too quick." Sakura said. "That sandstorm can't keep up with him. Lee you nailed him!"

"That's incredible." Shikamaru said.

"I've never seen anyone that fast." Ino said.

"Makes me dizzy just tryin'a keep track of him." Chouji said. Gaara stood as sand poured out of the gourd."

"Uh-oh." Kankurō said.

"Yeah uh-oh is right." Naruto said. "Your friend with the eye make-up is getting the stuffing beaten out of him."

"That isn't what I was talking about, kid." Kankurō said.

"Huh?" Lee looked at Gaara, who was hanging his head, as sand fell off his face and onto the ground. He looked up and sand was covering him completely except for a few places were the sand had broken off. Gaara was grinning with wide eyes, showing all his teeth, and making a weird sound.

"Gaara?" Rin whispered.

"What the heck?" Naruto asked. "What's going on with this guy?! His face is falling off."

"It's like a shell made of sand." Kakashi said.

"Look there's no a mark on the guy." Shikamaru said.

"That is so weird." Sakura said. The sand around Gaara swirled and went up to his face. The sand covered him.

"I don't get it, is he made of sand or what?" Naruto asked. "All those blow and kicks Lee hit him with, did any of them get through?"

"No." Kankurō said. "It's like he's wearing a suit of armor."

"A what?" Naruto asked.

"Ordinarily those shifting clouds of sand are enough to shield him but in the event the shield is penetrated Gaara can also wear the sand like armor as a last line of defense."

"This guy's too much. He's got armor now?" Naruto looked back at the two. "Does he have any weak spots?" Kankurō glanced over at Rin who looked extremely worried.

"Well is that all?" Gaara asked. Lee started to unwrap his arm wrappings until long pieces dangled from each.

"Get ready." Lee said before he started running around Gaara in a large circle.

"What are you waiting for?" Gaara asked.

"Okay you asked for it." Lee said. Suddenly Lee kicked Gaara in the chin sending him up.

"Gaara!" Rin shouted.

"Try this!" Lee kicked him in the stomach a bunch of times to get him up. The sand on the ground started to follow.

"What an incredible series of kicks." Kakashi said. Lee gave a final kick then wrapped Gaara with his bandages before grabbing onto him and spinning them both extremely fast.

"Now take this! Primary Lotus!" They hit the ground creating a large crater. Lee landed safely next to it. The smoke cleared and Gaara could be seen in the middle of the crater. The sand armor on his made it seem like he was cracked all over. "It is over. I got him." Lee said.

"Right on!" Gai shouted.

"Gaara!" Rin screamed. Temari put a hand on Rin's shoulder afraid the girl was going to jump over the railing to run to him.

"Amazing. He really did it." Naruto said.

"No… I don't believe it." Kankurō said.

"You did it!" Sakura cheered. "Way to go Lee!"

"Is he… that guy isn't dead is he?" Shikamaru asked. Hayate walked over to look at Gaara's body. A piece of sand fell in showing it was an empty shell. More pieces began to crumble away

"What?" Lee looked shocked.

"An empty shell!" Sakura shouted.

"But how? When did he do it?" Gai asked.

"It was when you closed your eyes to pray." Kakashi said. "At that moment, Lee closed his eyes too because of the pain. That's when he did it." Lee turned around hearing sand behind him and Gaara appeared, sand falling down around him. He chuckled.

"Oh no it's-" Tamari said. Rin looked back, up at Temari with a frown.

"So it's happened just as I thought; that look in his eyes it can only mean…" Kankurō said. "The demon inside him has been awakened." Gaara made a hand sign and the sand swirled around him before attacking Lee sending him to the ground. Lee got up shakily grunting. He turned to face Gaara. A large wave of sand rose up.

"Run Lee!" Naruto shouted. Lee put up his arms to defend himself and a large wave of sand pushed him to the wall. The sand retracted and Lee slid down the wall. The sand came at him again and Lee put up his arms around.

"The poor kid is helpless he doesn't have anything left." Kankurō said. "Gaara's just toying with him now."

"I don't get it, what's Lee doing just standing there?" Sakura asked. "With his speed he should easily be able to get out of the way of those blasts. Why doesn't he dodge them?"

"For a very simple reason." Gai said. "He can't dodge them."

"Huh? Why is that?"

"The lotus is what you might call a double edged sword." Kakashi said.

"What…What does that mean?"

"You know that it's a forbidden technique, why do you think that is?" Kakashi asked.

"Well…"

"The Lotus isn't ninjutsu or genjutsu it's taijutsu requiring extreme physical energy, the strain it puts onto the body is unimaginable. No one can sustain it for long. Right now Lee is in so much pain that he hardly move at all. Isn't that right Gai?"

"But-! But that means-!" Sakura looked back at Lee who was in a crater in the wall. He was holding his hands out and panting heavily. The sand attacked again and Lee jumped out of the way before rolling and jumping a few more times. Lee put up his arms in an X and Gaara made a hand sign. "No ninjutsu or genjutsu."

"All he's got is taijutsu." Ino said. "And not much of that."

"There's no way he can win this." Chouji said.

"Win? He'll be lucky to survive." Shikamaru said. Lee kept his arms up. Sand attacked him and he yelled out as he was sent to the ground. Gaara grinned and Lee stood up again holding up his arms. Gaara chuckled.

"What good to you think that'll do?" Gaara asked.

"I pity the kid." Kankurō said. "Gaara will just toy with him until he begs for mercy."

"Well then," Gai said. The three looked over. "Gaara's in for a long match because that will never happen."

"Huh?"

"Lee doesn't know how to give up." Gai said. The sand attacked Lee and he landed on his stomach the sand pounded into his back. Lee screamed. The sand retracted and Lee stood again holding up his arms. Tears came to his eyes as he looked up at Gai. Sand moved around and Lee got ready.

"He can't go on, make him quit before he gets himself killed!" Sakura shouted. Lee took up his normal stance with one hand up. The sand attacked but Lee quickly moved out of the way.

"Lee!" Rin shouted. Gaara clenched his fists and teeth as a growl rose in his throat.

 _Why does she care about_ him _?_ Gaara's mind screamed. _She's_ my _friend! Mine!_

"What?" Kankurō looked shocked that Lee had dodged the sand.

"He's still about to-" Neji said.

"Move like that?" Naruto asked. Lee stood again with a smirk.

"Lee's smiling, he's running for his life but he's still smiling." Sakura said.

"Yes, but now it's Gaara's run to run." Gai said. "The leaf village lotus blooms twice."

"I've heard that somewhere before." Sakura said. "Yeah. Lee told me that."

"But no… Gai you didn't." Kakashi said.

"Yes Kakashi I did."

"So that genin, that boy, is able to open the eight inner gates and use the hidden lotus?"

"That's correct." Gai said.

"Well if that isn't the more…." Kakashi sighed. "Okay, so then how many of the inner gate is her able to open now?"

"Five gates."

"Okay, what exactly are these inner gates you're talking about?" Sakura asked. "And the hidden lotus?"

"The eight gates are like values or chakra limiters that must be opened if one is to… release the hidden lotus."

"I'm still not following." Sakura said. Kakashi explained where the gates were. Starting at the head: The Gate of Opening, The Gate of Rest, of Life, of Pain, of Closing, of Joy, of shock and the Gate of Death. The purpose of the gates is to limit the flow of chakra throughout the body.

"The primary lotus opens only the first gate." Gai said. "The gate of opening, releasing the brains restrains on the muscles freeing a person to bring forth his body's strength to its full extent. You've seen the results."

"And the… hidden lotus?" Sakura asked. Lee was dodging all of Gaara's sand attacks.

"At the second gate, the gate of rest, one's strength is increased further. And at the third the gate of life one enters the hidden lotus."

"Wait a minute; just the primary lotus almost destroyed him, he could barely move. What's gunna happen to him if he takes it further?"

"Exactly." Kakashi said. "By opening all eight gates you could obtain power beyond even the Hokage's the only drawback is… you die." Sakura looked shocked. Kakashi looked at Gai. "I don't know what this boy means to you Gai, but I shouldn't have to tell you that we never bring our personal feelings into play. I wouldn't have thought you were capable of this.

"You have no right, you know nothing about him." Gai said. "Nothing at all! That boy has something important to prove and he's determined to prove it even at the cost of his life. And I am determined to help him reach his goal, not for his sake but because that goal is worth reaching." Suddenly the hair around Lee moved and energy came from him.

"What?"

"I don't know what you think you're planning right now but this match is over for you." Gaara said.

"You are right. It is over. One way or another. I am not going to be the only one to lose here!" Lee's hair stared to lift from the pressure of the air around Lee. Gaara looked a bit surprised. "Gai-Sensei please let this work, it is now or never!" Lee brought his arms down as blue chakra started to glow. His hair was blowing straight up and his skin and face looked darker. "The third gate! Gate of Life open!" The ground around Lee rose around him as his chakra and the air mixed around him. His skin was changing and his eyes were wide and white. A green glow emitted from him.

"His whole body's changing." Sakura said.

"He's turning red!" Naruto said.

"What's it mean? What's happening?" Kankurō asked.

"He's opened the third gate the gate of life, now he'll attack." Kakashi said.

"Oh no, not yet." Gai said.

"Hm?"

"The fourth gate! Gate of Pain!" Lee shouted as he was hunched over slightly. "Open!" He screamed.

"Incredible." Kakashi said. Lee continued to scream and suddenly moved forward. Gaara's eyes widened, as Lee moved the ground exploded. Lee kicked Gaara up in the chin, the force being sent up at the other genin and jounin watching. Everyone held up their arms and took cover.

"Gaara!" Rin screamed.

"Huh? Gaara!" Kankurō shouted looking around.

"Where'd they go?!" Naruto asked.

"Gaara!" Rin shouted, squinting to look through the dust.

"Eh huh? Up there!" Shikamaru shouted. Gaara flew up out of the smoke and dust.

"There's Gaara but what happened to Lee?" Ino asked.

"He's just gone!" Chouji said. Gaara's sand hurried to get to him. Gaara's sand armor was cracking.

"Hiding behind that sand armor again, ay?" Lee asked. "Well we will see about that!" Lee was suddenly above Gaara who sounded surprised. Lee hit Gaara down then back then all around rapidly. Gaara's sand armor was cracking and falling away. "You are a tough one!" Lee shouted. "Try this!" Lee forced his hand into a fist.

"I can't watch." Rin whimpered as she covered her eyes.

"His muscles are tearing themselves apart." Kakashi said.

"One more and we are finished!" Lee shouted as he opened the fifth gate. Lee disappeared when he was a foot away from Gaara. Gaara made a noise of surprise and suddenly Lee hit him in the stomach. Gaara went flying but Lee had a bandaged attached to him which stopped him. Gaara looked at Lee with wide eyes. Gaara's sand couldn't keep up and was far behind Lee. Lee pulled on the bandage which pulled Gaara up. "Hidden Lotus!" Lee shouted as he punched Gaara in the stomach. They hit the found sending a shock wave and smoke and dust up at everyone else. Gaara's gourd started to turn to sand to protect him. Lee rolled on the ground.

"Unbelievable he did it!" Naruto shouted.

"Gaara!" Kankurō and Rin shouted.

"Is it over?" Sakura asked. The smoked cleared.

"Huh?"

"What's that?" Ino asked. "Down there." In the center of the crater lying on a protective layer of sand Gaara was groaning in pain. Rin covered her mouth with a gasp. Gaara weakly reached out his arm with an open palm. His sand started going after Lee.

"I know what's coming now." Shino said. Lee struggled to get up and move away. The sand went around his left arm and leg.

"Gaara no!" Rin screamed.

"Sand coffin." Gaara said closing his fist. Lee screamed in pain. He hit the ground and looked to be unconscious. The sand move to attack again. "Now you die." Gaara sat up as his sand was stopped by Gai. Gaara looked at him in shock. He grabbed his head with one hand. "But why? He failed." He put his other hand on his head. "Why save him?"

"Because he's… he's my student and also because he is precious to me." Gaara blinked and his eyes looked up at Rin who had tears in hers.

"He's precious to him?" Tamari asked. "A student?" Gaara stood and his gourd reformed on his back. Gaara started walking away.

"Huh?" Gai looked after him.

"I quit." Gaara said.

"He what, he quits?" Sakura asked.

"It's too late for Lee. He lost the match the minute Gai intervened." Kakashi said.

"The winner is…uh?" Hayate look over at Lee. Everyone made a noise of surprise causing Gaara to turn around. Gai looked behind him to see Lee standing, his left arm and leg bleeding profusely and his left leg was shaking.

"It can't be." Gai said turning to face him. Lee raised his right hand in his normal pose. "No Lee." Gai went up to him. "It's alright, it's all over now. Anyway you're in no condition to…" Gai stopped. "Lee…oh Lee…" Gai started crying. "What have I done? Look at you not even conscious and still determined to show the world what you can do."

"He's out cold." Kakashi said pulling his headband back down. "Nothing keeping him up but sheer willpower.

"Lee… You've already proven it." Gai said before pulling him into a hug. "You are a splendid ninja."

"The winner is Gaara." Hayate said. Gaara was looking at Gai and Lee. He glared at them.

"Lee!" Sakura was about to jump down.

"Sakura." Kakashi said stopping her. "There is nothing you can do for him right now." She looked down. "There are times when sympathetic words only make things worse." Sakura looked down to see Gai lying Lee down.

"Hmph, I knew he couldn't beat Gaara." Temari said. Naruto vaulted over the railing and started running towards them. As he passed Gaara he turned his head to look at him. Gaara looked back then watched Naruto run over.

"Hurry this boy needs attention." Hayate said to the medics who were coming. Naruto looked down at Lee.

"Bushy Brow…" Naruto stood by Gai as the medical ninja looked over Lee.

"You're his teacher aren't you?" One of the medics asked Gai.

"I am. What is it?" Gai said. The medic stood.

"Will you… come with me?" The medic asked before walking away. Gai followed.

"Careful with him." The other two medics put Lee on the stretcher. "That's right, easy." Naruto walked over and looked at Lee.

"The boy's breathing is faint but steady. There are bone fractures and muscle tares on is body. He's facing a long and difficult rehabilitation." The medic told Gai. "But I'm afraid it's not the worst of it… his left arm and leg in particular have suffered massive damage. I'm sorry I know how much it means to you both but he'll never fight again. His days as a shinobi are over." The medic bowed before going over to the stretcher to help take Lee away.

"No… he's wrong." Naruto said, tears coming to his eyes. "It can't be true." His shoulders shook. Gai walked up to Lee. He was also crying. They took him away.

"Easy for you to say it's over! What about Bushy Brow?!" Naruto screamed. "What's he supposed to do now?! Failure! I thought you said we could win?! I thought you were gunna show how a failure can-! It was all a lie wasn't it!" Naruto started to run after them but Kakashi appeared to hold him back and cover his mouth.

"That's enough Naruto." Naruto knocked his hand away.

"But sensei- It isn't fair! All he ever wanted was to prove himself against Sasuke and Neji."

"And maybe that's what led to his downfall." Kakashi said. "He was so fixated on that goal that he sacrificed his body, his future, to attain it. And now that goal is unattainable. But you're wrong about one things Naruto, it wasn't just Sasuke and Neji he was thinking of, it was you too. That's right, he risked everything just for the hope of meeting _you_ in combat. Remember that." Kakashi put his hand on Naruto's head. "Be worthy of his sacrifice." Gaara watched Lee get taken away. Gaara transported back to Tamari, Rin and Baki with his sand.

"Good to have you back, Gaara." Temari said. Gaara just looked at her for a brief moment before looking at Rin. She was wiping tears out of her eyes. Gaara's hand gripped the front of his shirt as she looked at him. He must have looked in pain because her eyes widened and she rushed to his side.

"Are you okay?" she asked reaching out a hand but stopping before she touched his arm.

 _She doesn't even want to touch me._ Gaara thought bitterly.

"Gaara?" Rin asked as she gently touched his arm. Gaara looked down at her hand; Rin took it the wrong way and pulled her hand back. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." he said quietly. Rin looked towards the doors of the room.

"I hope Lee is okay…" she said. Gaara started glaring at the ground. Temari swallowed and looked between the two.

* * *

 **Probably going to post another chapter in a day or so… maybe even tomorrow.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 **BIG THANK YOU to everyone who reviews, favorites, and follows! ^_^**

* * *

 _Knowing that's never going to change  
That's what keeps me going  
Knowing I can just call your name  
And your arms will open  
It's all the strength I need,  
Just knowing you love me_

 _-Just Knowing You Love Me - Jimmy Wayne_

Everyone who had won their matches, minus Sasuke, stood in front of Hayate, Anko, and Ibiki who were standing in front of the Hokage. The genin were all in a line: Dosu, Naruto, Temari , Kankurō, Gaara, Shikamaru, Neji and then Shino. Everyone one else was still up in the balconies.

"I commend all those who've advanced to the finals for the third level of the chunin exams." Hayate said. "Well there's one person missing but still, congratulations."

"And now I will begin the explanation of the final round." The Hokage said. "In the final rounds each of you will put your battle skills on display. You demonstrate the power and control you've received in your respected disciplines. Accordingly the final battles will commence one month from now."

"Wait, we're not gunna do it right here and now?" Naruto asked.

"This is to supply a suitable period of preparation." The Hokage explained

"What do you mean by that?" Neji asked.

"Simply this in addition to announcing the conclusion of the preliminary matches to each county's leaders, we must also have some time to prepare and distribute the summons for the final selection. Not to mention that you examinees are going to need time to prepare for something that is this important.

"Look I don't really get what you're tryin'a say." Kankurō said. "What's the point of this?"

"I mean that to know your advisories and prepare yourself you need time. Even though up to this point all the battles have been real battles as I'm sure you can all attest. They were conducted on the premise that you were fighting an unknown enemy but that's no longer the case now that you've battled each other. So in order to make the finals fair and just, we're giving you this month. Each of you must embrace the opportunity to practice hard and learn some new tricks. Because by now everyone here knows your techniques, so using your own tired tricks is a sure way to lose in the finals. And remember to get some rest as well. Now, with all of that behind us, I'd like to begin winding things up. But before we can bring this to an end first there is one more important matter to take care of for the final round."

"Let's get on with it!" Naruto said. "I mean come one, how long do we have to wait until we start training?!"

"In a calm orderly fashion all of you are going to take one slip of paper from the box that Anko is holding." The Hokage said.

"Everyone just stay where you are, I'll just come to you." Anko said. She walked up to Dosu. "Just take one." Everyone took out a paper. Naruto opened his to see a one.

"Huh?"

"Good now everyone has one. Going from left to right tell me the number that's written on your slip of paper."

"I've got eight." Dosu said.

"Number one of course." Naruto said.

"Seven." Temari said.

"Five." Kankurō said.

"Three." Gaara said.

"Nine." Shikamaru said.

"Two." Neji said.

"Six" Shino said.

"And that means Sasuke will be number four." Ibiki said.

"Right." The Hokage said. "Very good, Now I'm going to tell you about how the final selection tournament is going to work."

"Ehhhh?" Naruto looked confused.

"Is that what the numbers are for? Drawing lots?"

"Ibiki, you may reveal which ninja have been paired up." Hokage said.

"Yes sir." Ibiki turned the clipboard her was holding around to show a chart. Naruto gulped. The order went as follows: Naruto vs Neji, Gaara vs Sasuke, Kankurō vs Shino, Temari vs Dosu and who ever won that match would go against Shikamaru.

"May I ask you a question?" Shikamaru asked raising his hand.

"You may." The Hokage said. Shikamaru pointed one finger up.

"Alright if this is a tournament, does that mean that there's only going to be one winner? I mean only one of is going to be able to become a chunin then?"

"Actually it's quite the contrary. There are going to be several judges for the final rounds including myself, the shinobi leaders and the Kazekage, the lords from the various countries that ultimately will be assigning your missions to you. Through this tournament these judges will be able to make a thorough evaluation of your abilities. They will then decide whether any or all of you possess the qualities required of a chunin. Even if someone loses the first round they could still become a chunin."

"So there's actually a chance that every one of us who competes in the selection could become chunin." Temari said.

"Correct, but conversely there's also a chance that none of you will be chosen." The Hokage said. Naruto gulped. "The advantage in fighting more rounds in the tournament is in getting more chances to display your talents in front of the judges who will decide your fate. Does that answer your question, Shikamaru? I thank you all for your patients. Now let us adjourn until next month."

* * *

"I'm so tired." Rin said as she sat on the hotel bed.

" _You're_ tired?" Kankurō asked. "You didn't do a thing!"

"Cheering is hard work." Rin said crossing her arms.

"Didn't hear ya cheerin for me." Kankurō muttered.

"I wished you luck and you said you didn't need it so I figured you didn't need my cheering either." Rin said putting her hands on her hips. Kankurō rolled his eyes.

"But you thought Temari would need it?" Kankurō teased looking at his sister who was shaking her head.

"I won by a long shot." Temari said. "Why _did_ you only cheer for me?" Temari asked turning to look at Rin. Gaara, who was putting his gourd down at the end of the bed, started to pay attention. "I can understand not cheering for him," she jerked her thumb at Kankurō who frowned.

"Well," Rin looked down. "I was gunna cheer for Gaara," Gaara turned his head to look at her. "But I didn't want to embarrass him." she shuffled her feet slightly. Temari started to smile and Kankurō rolled his eyes. Gaara let out a silent sigh.

 _She_ was _cheering for me,_ he thought. He remembered hearing her scream his name whenever Lee got a hit in. _She cares about me more than that green suited loser._

"Dibs on second shower after Gaara." Rin said.

"The other room has a shower you know." Kankurō said. "Use that one."

"Temari's using that one though." Rin said. Temari smiled. One good thing about Rin pretty much sharing a room with the boys is that Temari got the shower all to herself.

"Thanks Rin." Temari said before going to her room through the connecting door.

"You go ahead, Rin." Gaara said. Rin blinked.

"You sure?" Rin asked. Gaara nodded. "Okay. I won't take long." she said with a smile before she skipped into the bathroom. Kankurō sighed.

"You forgot your clothes." he said. Rin skipped out, humming, and went into Temari's room to get her PJs. Gaara faced away from Kankurō and let a small smile slip through. A moment later Rin came back in and went into the bathroom. The door closed and Kankurō started taking off his jumpsuit. He tossed it on his suitcase and sat on the bed in his boxers and the white shirt he had on underneath. Gaara sat on his bed and watched Kankurō look around for something before he got up. Kankurō walked to the bathroom door and knocked. "Hey, ya think you could give me my-" The door opened and Gaara saw Rin's arm pop out holding Kankurō's make up remover. "Thanks." Kankurō mumbled as Rin shut the door.

…

A few minutes later Rin came out of the bathroom in her PJ's with her towel around her neck. She looked at Kankurō, who was sitting on the bed, and shook her head. Rin let out a sigh making Kankurō look up.

"What?" he asked.

"You missed a spot." she said. Kankurō frowned.

"Where?" he asked as he started wiping his hand around his face. Rin took a corner of her towel and held his chin so he'd stay still while she wiped the remaining purple from his forehead.

"You're welcome." she said.

"Yeah thanks." Kankurō muttered. "Would've come off in the shower anyways." He pointed out.

"Yeah but it could've run down into your eye and that would've hurt." Rin said. Kankurō chuckled.

"Didn't know you cared so much, twerp." Kankurō said patting her on the head.

"Kankurō." Gaara said making Kankurō tense. "Go ahead and shower." Kankurō nodded silently before he grabbed his clothes and headed into the bathroom. Rin walked over and sat next to Gaara.

"What's wrong? You don't want to shower?" Rin asked. Gaara shook his head.

"Rin?"

"Mhm?"

"Did I… Did I scare you today?" he asked. He wanted to look at her but he didn't want to see her expression.

"Why would you have scared me?" Rin asked as she tilted her head. Gaara glanced at her.

"My match… that boy…"

"Lee?" Rin asked. Gaara nodded. "You… you didn't mean to hurt him that badly, right?" Gaara turned his head to fully look at her. "No one's ever landed a hit on you in battle. It was a heat of the moment thing." Rin said with a shrug. Gaara nodded.

"Yeah… that's what happened." he said. "I just didn't know if you-"

"Nothing you do will ever change my opinion of you, Gaara." Rin said with a smile. She slipped her hand into his that was on the bed between them. Gaara gave her hand a squeeze and nodded. "I'm glad you passed though." Rin said before leaning over and pecking his cheek. Gaara allowed himself to smile at her as Rin let out a small yawn.

"You should get some sleep." he said.

"I can't sleep without my Gaara-bear." Rin said with a small giggle. Gaara's cheeks went pink and he looked to the bathroom door. The shower could still be heard running. "He can't hear." Rin said rolling her eyes. Gaara shook his head with a small smile.

"I told you not to call me that unless we were alone." Gaara said quietly.

"We are alone." Rin said with a giggle. "Don't worry; I wouldn't ruin your bad boy reputation." Gaara raised his brow and stared at her.

"My what?" he asked. Rin started giggling.

"I'm just teasing you." she said as she moved to get under the covers. Gaara shook his head and moved under the covers as well. "Whacha wanna do tomorrow?" Rin asked as she moved close to Gaara and put her head on his chest.

"I wasn't planning on doing anything." Gaara said. Rin smiled as his voice vibrated throughout his chest.

"I'm gunna see what kinda shops they have here." Rin said. Gaara frowned slightly. "Don't worry; I won't make you come with me. I'll bring you something back though. Maybe Temari will want to come with me. I overheard a woman talking about a hotsprings here. That sounds like fun, doesn't it Gaara?" Gaara chuckled and put a hand on her head.

"Go to sleep, Rin." he said. Rin giggled and snuggled closer before closing her eyes.

* * *

Rin walked through the village holding her hands behind her back as she looked around with a smile.

"Hey!"

"Huh?" Rin stopped and turned her head to see Naruto running towards her with a big smile.

"Hey!" He stopped behind her as she turned completely to face him.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun." she said with a smile.

"G-good moring, Rin-chan."

"Just Rin is okay."

"Oh okay!" Naruto said with another big smile.

"What's up?" Rin asked.

"Um.. I was just wondering if you might wanna maybe… if you're not busy," Naruto pushed two fingers together as he looked down at his feet. Rin tilted her head. "Do you wanna maybe get some ramen with me?"

"Sure! I haven't had breakfast yet anyways." Rin said.

"Great! Let's go! I know the best ramen place it's gunna be the best ramen you've ever had!" Naruto said as he started to lead the way to the ramen shop.

"I've actually never had ramen before." Naruto suddenly froze midstep and Rin blinked as she turned to him. "Naruto-kun? Are you okay?" Naruto turned to her slowly with wide eyes.

"You've… _never_ had ramen?!" he shouted making Rin jump and shake her head.

"It's not that popular in Suna. Hot things in the desert and all." Rin explained. Naruto suddenly grabbed Rin's hand and started running towards the ramen shop.

…

Naruto watched Rin pick up her chopsticks as they sat in Ichiraku Ramen. Rin glanced at him as she picked up some noodles. Naruto looked excited and was bouncing in his seat.

"Go on." he said. "Try it." Rin nodded and turned to her bowl before taking a big bite. She blinked and Naruto leaned forward. "Well?" Rin swallowed the bite and turned to Naruto with a big smile.

"This is awesome!" she said before she started eating more. Naruto laughed.

"Ichiraku Ramen is the best!" Naruto cheered as the shop owner placed his bowl in front of him. Rin glance over and saw that Naruto was almost done with his bowl.

"Wow." She said. Naruto stopped mid-slurp and glanced at her. He blinked and swallowed what he had in his mouth before sitting up with a nervous chuckle. Rin giggled. "You really like ramen, huh?"

"Yep!"

"Thanks for showing me this place." Rin said.

"No problem." Naruto said with a grin before he started to eat the rest of his ramen, a bit more slowly.

…

By the time Rin finished her bowl Naruto had finished his second and the owner had placed a third in front of him. Rin reached into her pocket and pulled out her wallet.

"This is on me." Naruto said.

"Huh?" Rin blinked. "You don't have to do that." Naruto blushed.

"Think of it as a welcome to Konoha gift." he said. Rin giggled.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yeah!" Naruto said. "But only if you have ramen again with me later." Rin smiled.

"Of course."

"Awesome!"

* * *

"So what do you do for fun around here?" Rin asked.

"Uh I mostly train or eat ramen." Naruto said scratching the back of his head. Rin chuckled.

"What do other people do then?" she asked.

"Well…" Naruto frowned as he thought. "There's the hot springs."

"I heard someone talking about those." Rin said with a nod. "I think I'm gunna see if Temari wants to come with me later."

"Uh… is that the blond girl?" Naruto asked. Rin nodded.

"Mhm she's Gaara and Kankurō's sister." she said. Naruto simply nodded with a frown. "He didn't mean to hurt Lee." Naruto looked at her as she looked down at her feet. "He's never been hit in battle, I think he got scared and his sand lashed out." Naruto's expression softened when he saw how tears were coming to Rin's eyes.

"Hey, you should get some souvenirs!" Naruto said.

"You're supposed to save souvenir shopping to the last few days of a trip."

"Says who?" Naruto asked. Rin shrugged. "That's stupid." Naruto said shaking his head. "Come on, how about I just give you a tour that way you'll know where every shop is when you want to get souvenirs."

"That sounds great!"

* * *

Rin spent the whole day with Naruto and they ended up back at Ichiraku Ramen. Gaara thought Rin would've returned to the room by then so he went out looking for her. He heard her laugh and followed the sound to the ramen shop. Gaara saw Naruto with her and he frowned.

"Rin." Gaara said as he walked up to them. The two turned around and Naruto frowned while Rin smiled.

"Hey Gaara, wanna join us? You should try this, it's really good. I think ramen is now one of my top five favorite foods." Rin said with a grin.

"It's late." Gaara said. Rin tilted her head and looked at her watch.

"It's not that late."

"You've been gone all day." Gaara said.

"She's been with me all day." Naruto said. Gaara glared at him.

"I told you I was going to be exploring the village today." Rin said. Gaara gently grabbed Rin's wrist and started to pull her away from the loud blond. Naruto quickly grabbed her other wrist.

"Hey wait!" he shouted. Gaara turned to glare at him. "She doesn't have to go with you!" Gaara's face softened as he turned his head to look at Rin.

"Rin." he said. Rin looked back and forth between the two boys. She frowned and settled on looking at Gaara.

"I want to hang out with Naru-kun." she said. Gaara's eyes widened a fraction and he let go of her wrist before he walked away without another word.

"Come on, Rin." Naruto said as he started to pull her back to the ramen shop. Rin pulled her hand free. "Huh?" Naruto watched Rin run after Gaara and stop in front of him. He didn't meet her eyes.

"You're still my best friend and I asked if you wanted to join us. I want to hang out with Naruto cause we leave in a month. You see me every day; I don't know when I'm going to see him again after the end of the exams. I don't know why you're upset but I don't think it's fair so I'm going to hang out with Naruto and… and you can just deal with it." Gaara's eyes were visibly wide. Rin was glaring at him.

 _Rin? Why?_

She walked past him and back over to Naruto who looked between the two.

"Everything okay?" Naruto asked.

" _Fine_." Rin snapped. She stopped and cringed. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay; ramen will make you feel better." Naruto said. Rin let out a light chuckle and nodded.

* * *

Rin returned to the inn she and the sand sibs were staying at but before she could touch the door handle the door opened and she was pulled inside.

"Whoa!"

"What did you do?" Temari asked.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Rin asked.

"To Gaara." Kankurō said. "He's been on some roof for hours; he looked ready to kill someone." He muttered. Rin frowned and lowered her head.

"It's my fault." Rin said. "I wanted to hang out with Naruto and Gaara got upset." Rin said.

"Of course he got upset. You're his only friend." Temari said. "He doesn't want to lose you."

"But he knows he's my best friend." Rin said.

"Rin, he's never had anyone but you besides…" Kankurō trailed off.

"Where is he?" Rin asked.

"Last we knew he left through the window and was jumping roofs." Temari said. "Fix this."

"I plan to."

* * *

Gaara sat high above a roof, wind chimes below him sounded.

"Well well… look at this." Dosu said as he approached. "Don't you even sleep at all?"

"Why are you here? What do you want?" Gaara asked.

"I was planning on attacking you while you slept." Dosu said. "If I fight and defeat you now then in the next round I can battle the one I really want to face. Sasuke. I already know all about your sand attack. I wonder which is faster, your sand or my sound." Dosu said.

"When the moon is full... Its blood boils." Gaara said as his sand came out of the gourd and attacked Dosu.

"Huh, wha- what in the world _are_ you?" The sand attacked Dosu and killed him in a manner of seconds. Gaara was bent over on the roof, panting so heavily that he almost didn't hear the gasp come from behind him. His head snapped to the sound and his eyes widened.

 _No,_ his mind screamed. _Why? Why now? Why did you have come here now?!_ Rin stared at Gaara with wide eyes; her hands had flown to cover her mouth. Gaara felt his heart pounding in his ears. She'd seen him. She'd seen what he'd done, what he was capable of doing. He couldn't breathe. All this time he'd managed to control himself around her when it came to killing. He never felt the need to around her. He didn't want her to ever see that side of him and now she had.

"Rin." He took a step towards her, expecting her to run but she stood there frozen. "Rin I-" She wasn't moving, not even her chest. His eyes widened and he ran over to her. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Rin!" He couldn't hide the panic in his voice. She sucked in a gasp and her legs gave out. Her hands moved to grip his shoulders as he lowered her slowly. "Rin?" She didn't say a thing, _couldn't_ say a thing. Her throat felt dryer than Suna itself and when she tried to swallow it felt like there was a clump of sand in her throat. Gaara pulled her to him. She was tense against him but her arms had gone limp and hung at her sides. Gaara rested his forehead on her shoulder. "Don't hate me." He whispered, his voice cracking, as he gripped the back of her shirt tightly. Rin's arms felt numb but she wrapped them around him.

"I could never hate you." she whispered. Gaara's grip around her tightened and Rin, in turn, pulled him closer. She kissed his temple before she put her hand on the back of his head and stroked his hair gently. "You're my best friend. Forever and always, right?" she whispered. Gaara nodded against her shoulder.

"Forever and always." he said, his voice coming out as a broken whisper.

* * *

 **Just realized we haven't had a "Forever and always" moment since chapter 10. Let me know what you guys think. ^_^**

 **Also I don't want to skip the month between now and the final matches so if anyone has any ideas for activities/events to happen. I have a few so far like the hot-springs I keep mentioning but the ideas I have only use up a few days not even a week. I always give credit for ideas so feel free to comment/review or PM me.**

 **Another big THANK YOU for everyone who reads this story. Knowing how much you guys like this story keeps me motivated ^_^**


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 **Thank you both guests for your reviews.**

 **scorpia1029: that sounds nice but I don't know what the festival would be for. I'm gunna do some research and just look up Japanese festivals so that'll probably be in the next chapter or so. I will give you credit in the chapter the scene is.**

 **Coco96: Yep that was an idea I actually forgot I had so thank you for reminding me.**

 **garrin ship (guest): Omg a ship name, NICE. The two have met but I didn't have them really talk. I could have them talk though I can see them being friends.**

 **LynnStark: I'm sorry. I'm kinda mainly focused on my Until Dawn story but I will come back to this I promise.**

 **I actually didn't like Lee when I used to watch Naruto as a kid, can't remember why, but now I just find him adorkable.**

* * *

 _Think twice before you touch my girl  
Come around I'll let you feel the burn  
Think twice before you touch my girl  
Come around come around no more_

 _-Eve 6 -Think Twice_

Temari sat on her hotel bed, Kankurō and Baki stood nearby; they all spoke in hushed voices.

"Do we have to?" Kankurō asked. "She hasn't done anything wrong."

"She keeps him calm; that's the last thing we need." Baki said. "We're not going to kill the girl. We just need to be sure that Gaara at least hears her scream. That won't be our responsibility we just can't interfere."

"You made it clear not to kill her right?" Temari asked.

"Yes. Now drop it. They could come back any minute." Baki hissed. A moment later the door opened and Rin skipped into the room. The three quickly turned to look at her and she froze mid-skip.

"What? I can skip." she said crossing her arms. The three relaxed; Rin hadn't heard them talking. "I left my wallet in here." Rin said walking over to her suitcase that was still on her perfectly made bed. She opened it and searched the pockets of a pair of pants. "Aha!" She held up her wallet and turned to look at the others who were still watching her. "What?" The three looked away.

"Nothing." Temari said.

"Okay." Rin said with a shrug as she closed her suitcase. She walked to the door but stopped when she was in front of Temari. "We should go shopping at some point." Temari nodded.

"Sure. Later." Temari said.

"Yay." Rin said before leaving. Kankurō let out a sigh.

"So much for her not coming in here." he said. Baki turned to look at Temari.

"Gaara's in his room." Temari told Baki before the man could ask.

* * *

Ino sighed resting her chin in her palm as she stood behind the counter of the flower shop. Something caught her eye and she saw Rin walk into the shop. It took her a moment but Ino recognized her as the girl who was friends with Gaara.

"What kind of flower do you think Lee would like?" Rin asked.

"Huh?"

"Lee. The boy who got hurt in the preliminaries. What kind of flowers does he like? I don't wanna show up empty handed." Rin said.

"You're going to visit Lee?" Ino asked. Rin nodded.

"I feel bad that Gaara hurt him as much as he did."

"How can you be friends with that guy? Lee will never be able to fight again! Don't you understand that?" Rin frowned and bit her lip as tears came to her eyes.

"I've been with him since we were kids. He wasn't always like this." Rin said wiping away her tears before they fell. "He can be really sweet."

"Sweet?"

"Yes. He's nice."

"Maybe to you." Ino said. "Have you seen the way he looks at everyone else?" Images of the night before flashed into Rin's mind. She turned to a few potted flowers.

"Do you think Lee likes irises?" Rin asked. Ino watched Rin bite her quivering lip.

"Yeah." she said with a nod. Rin nodded and picked one out. She paid in silence before turning to leave. She paused and turned back.

"If you'd met him back then…" she trailed off with a small smile. Ino suddenly looked sympathetic. Rin left without another word.

* * *

Rin asked the hospital receptionist where Lee's room was before heading down a hallway. Rin knocked on the door before opening it slowly.

"Lee?" She asked softly. Rin walked inside as Lee opened his eyes weakly. "Hey." Rin said as she approached the bed.

"I remember you. You are Rin." he said. Rin nodded.

"I brought you a flower." she said holding it up. Lee smiled.

"It matches your hair."

"Mhm." Rin hummed as she added the flower to the vase on the bedside table.

"When I look at it I'll think of you." Lee said. Rin felt her cheeks heat up and smiled shyly. "How do you feel?" Lee's smile faded. "I'm sorry." Rin said suddenly. Lee blinked. "I'm sorry that Gaara hurt you."

"It was a match-"

"That's no excuse! He shouldn't have…" Rin trailed off. "Can I visit you tomorrow too?" She asked. Lee smiled.

"Of course. I don't know if I'll be awake but I'll try to be, for you." Lee said. Rin smiled.

"I'm sorry for waking you. I'll let you rest." Rin said before kissing his forehead as he closed his eyes.

* * *

Rin stood in front of an apartment door with a tote bag on her shoulder and knocked, a moment later Naruto opened the door.

"Rin?" he blinked. "H-HI, what are you doing here? How did you know where I lived?"

"Hi, I just asked Teuchi-san at Ichiraku Ramen." Rin said.

"Oh."

"Can I use your oven?" Rin asked with a smile holding her hands behind her back.

"My oven?"

"I want to make cupcakes for all the participants of the exams." Rin said. Naruto tilted his head slightly.

"Why?" he asked. Rin shrugged.

"I dunno. I thought of it during the second exam and figured I'd ask someone if I could use their oven."

"Oh." Naruto glanced into the mess that was his apartment. "Uh… Maybe you should ask Sakura, she'd probably have more room." he said with a nervous chuckle.

"Oh okay. Do you know where she lives?" Rin asked.

"Yeah, I'll show you." Naruto said as he came outside and closed his door behind him. "And uh, if you want some help I wouldn't mind helping."

"Really? Thanks Naruto!" Rin said with a big smile. He smiled back, a light pink dusting his cheeks.

"No problem." he said.

…

Rin and Naruto walked side by side figuring out how many cupcakes they would have to make for everyone when they saw Hinata walking towards them. Rin noticed her and waved with a big smile.

"Hey Hinata!" Rin called before running up to the girl.

"Oh, Rin." Hinata said with a small smile. "a-and Naruto." she added quietly as Naruto caught up to Rin.

"We're gunna make cupcakes for everyone who got past the second exam." Rin said. Hinata smiled.

"That's nice."

"Do you want to help us? We're gunna ask Sakura if we can use her oven." Rin said.

"Oh, y-you could use mine." Hinata said. "If you want…"

"Really?" Rin asked with a smile. Hinata nodded. "Awesome. Thank you."

* * *

"I brought all the ingredients we need but we need bowls and such." Rin said taking off her tote back and putting it on a table in Hinata's kitchen. Hinata nodded and started to get out some bowls and everything else they would need. "I was thinking if we made two batches of 12," Rin said putting a cupcake tray of 12 on the counter. "then we'd have enough for everyone and some left over for each team's sensei."

"We'll probably have to make a few for Chouji." Naruto mused. He picked up a small box of food colouring. "What're these for?"

"I'm gunna make each cupcake's frosting its own colour." Rin said.

"You brought a lot of stuff." Naruto said as he looked at everything she'd laid out on the table. There were frosting bags, tips, sprinkles and other things to decorate with.

"Yeah, I guess I went a little overboard." Rin said with a sheepish smile.

"You like baking then?" Hinata asked with a small smile.

"Can you tell?" Rin said with a giggle.

"Alright! Let's get bakin!" Naruto cheered with one fist in the air. The two girls giggled at him.

* * *

"So tired!" Naruto moaned.

"We only have a few more cupcakes to frost. You can take a break, Naruto." Rin said.

"Thank you." Naruto said before he just let himself fall to the floor. Somehow he was the only one to be covered in flour and have frosting on his face.

"Do you think Lee will be awake?" Hinata asked as she watched Rin frost a cupcake with green frosting. Rin stopped and frowned.

"I hadn't thought of that."

"I'm sorry." Hinata said.

"You don't have to apologize. I guess I could just give this to Gai and make Lee a whole cake when he gets better." Rin said with a big smile. Hinata smiled.

"That's a great idea. If you'd let me I'll help you then as well." Hinata said.

"That would be awesome." Rin said.

"Do you need help handing them all out?"

"Yeah, would you mind?"

"Not at all." Hinata smiled.

"You up to walking around the village with us Naruto?" Rin asked. Naruto popped up.

"Yeah!" he said before falling back to the ground. Both girls winced. He popped back up. "I'm fine! I'm good." He grinned. Both girls giggled.

* * *

The three walked around the village with the two containers of cupcakes. They found Lee's team first, they were training with Gai. Tenten thanked Rin for the cupcake and said she would eat it later, Neji refused to look at Hinata or Rin when she held out the cupcake for him. Tenten took it and put it with hers saying that she'd talk to him later. Gai however gratefully took the cupcake made for him and thanked both Rin and Hinata greatly, and loudly before he started a rant about the beauty of youth. The three managed to sneak away from him before finding Sakura and Ino, separately, who both were reluctant to accept the cupcakes but only due to the fact that they were worried about sugar and calories. Rin gave Sakura Sasuke's cupcake which Sakura gladly took to give to him later. Hinata found her teammates and handed out their cupcakes. Shino thanked the girls quietly while Kiba asked about what was in the cupcake to see if he could share it with Akamaru. Chouji was all too happy to hug Rin for the cupcake Shikamaru said a small thank you before pulling Chouji off of her.

"Who are the purple, yellow and red ones for?" Hinata asked.

"Temari, Kankurō and Gaara." Rin said.

"Can't you make them cupcakes back in the sand village?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah but I made some for everyone else." Rin said with a shrug. "I'm gunna head back and give them to them. We should hang out again soon though."

"Yeah." Hinata smiled.

"I'll see you guys later." Rin said to the two.

"We should get Ramen later." Naruto said. "You could come too if you want." He said to Hinata. Her face went pink and she stuttered out an 'okay'. "Great, we'll come by later, Rin."

"Okay, see you later." Rin said with a wave.

* * *

"Well you look happy." Kankurō said as Rin entered the hotel room. "Whacha got there?" he asked before Rin held out a cupcake. Kankurō blinked. "Where did you make cupcakes."

"Hinata's." Rin said. "Where's Gaara?" Knakuro pointed to the closed bathroom door. Rin nodded and knocked on the connecting door to Temari's room. Temari opened the door.

"Yeah?"

"I made you a cupcake." Rin said holding it out.

"Oh, thanks, Rin." Temari said as she took it. The bathroom door opened and Gaara came out with a towel around his neck.

"Rin." He said. "You've been gone all day." He said. Rin turned and held out the red frosted cupcake with a smile. Gaara blinked before he had to hold back a smile. "You really made everyone cupcakes?"

"Uh-huh!" Rin nodded. Gaara glanced at his siblings, Kankurō headed into the bathroom while Temari went back into her room. Gaara looked back at Rin. "Thanks."


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 **Putting the "previously in" part cause this is continuing the scene from the last chapter. PLUS it's been so long.**

 **Sorry this took forever…. But thank you everyone for your reviews!**

* * *

 _I like the way that you smile at me  
And make me feel like nothin'  
Can go wrong_

 _Tell me this will last forever_  
 _Don't you ever leave_

 _-Jesse McCartney – Without you_

 **Previously in My Demons:**

Rin turned and held out the red frosted cupcake with a smile. Gaara blinked before he had to hold back a smile. "You really made everyone cupcakes?"

"Uh-huh!" Rin nodded. Gaara glanced at his siblings, Kankurō headed into the bathroom while Temari went back into her room. Gaara looked back at Rin. "Thanks."

 **…**

"I had originally planned on asking Naruto to use his oven," Rin explained as she sat on the bed. Gaara started to frown at the mention of the blonde boy as he sat beside her. "Then he suggested we go to Sakura's but then we bumped into Hinata on the way and she suggested we use her oven." She started to giggle. "There was such a mess. It's amazing we were able to make enough cupcakes with all the flour that ended up on Naruto." Gaara found himself glaring down at the cupcake. "We should have a baking day when we get back to Suna." Rin said turning to him with a grin. She noticed his frown and blinked, her grin faded. "Are you okay?" Gaara looked up at her suddenly and blinked.

"I'm fine." he said.

"You sure?" Rin leaned closer to him. He nodded. "Okay." Rin smiled. A small smile grew on Gaara's face. He took the wrapper off the cupcake and bit into it. Rin started giggling which made Gaara blink. She pointed to her own nose. "You have frosting on your nose." Gaara looked down cross-eyed at his nose before he wiped the frosting off. He smiled as Rin continued to giggle at him then smirked before poking her nose. Rin blinked and looked down at the frosting on her nose. " _Hey_." She whined with a pout. Gaara chuckled as Rin wiped it off with her finger before eating it. "Mmm." She smiled. "I make good frosting." Gaara nodded as he took another bite of the cupcake. Kankurō stepped out of the bathroom and headed over to his bed.

"Good cupcake, twerp." He said as he sat down.

"Thanks." Rin said with a smile.

* * *

Temari and Rin walked into the boy's room, Kankurō was relaxing on his bed while Gaara was meditating on his. The two looked over at the giggling girls as they entered.

"What's in the bag?" Kankurō asked noticing the shopping bag Temari was holding. "Tell me you didn't get more clothes."

"Technically no." Rin said.

"Technically?" Kankurō asked.

"Well they're not every day clothes." Temari said.

"Meaning?" Kankurō asked.

"Meaning we're commandeering your bathroom." Rin said.

"Commandeering?" Kankurō raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, I say commandeering now." Rin said crossing her arms.

"No more pirate movies for you." Kankurō said as he shook his head. Rin pouted and followed Temari into the bathroom. Kankurō glanced at Gaara to see him also looking as confused as he was.

…

A few minutes later the bathroom door opened and Temari walked out.

"What are you wearing? No, scratch that, _why_ are you wearing that?" Kankurō asked as he looked away. Temari rolled her eyes.

"Rin and I are going to the pool and then the hot springs, so we needed bathing suits." Temari said. "It doesn't look that bad does it?" she asked looking down at her white and yellow bikini.

"As your brother, please don't ask me to answer that." Kankurō said.

"Fine, then what's your opinion of Rin's?" Temari asked as the girl walked out. Both Kankurō and Gaara looked over to see her in a white and blue bikini. The two swallowed as their faces went red. Immediately Gaara started glaring at Kankurō who, when he noticed this, turned his head away.

"You look great." Kankurō said. Rin looked at Gaara who nodded in agreement but wouldn't meet her eyes.

"We got you guys some too if you wanna come with us." Rin said pulling out two pairs of trunks from the shopping bag. One was black and purple and the other was black and red.

"Maybe later." Kankurō said.

"Rin convinced a few of the other leaf village ninjas to join us." Temari said.

"They're all a bunch of 12 year olds." Kankurō said.

"Not just them." Temari said rolling her eyes.

"Be right there." Kankurō said hopping off his bed, grabbing the trunks and going into the bathroom.

"What about you, Gaara?" Rin asked as she walked a few steps closer to him. He swallowed and kept his eyes down.

"Maybe later." he said. Rin pouted.

"Awe." she whined. "Okay."

"Rin?" he asked.

"Hm?"

"You're…" Rin blinked and tilted her head. "You're not going to walk around the village like that are you?" he asked. Rin shrugged.

"I guess so." she said. Gaara glared down for a moment before getting up and grabbing the red pair of trunks from the bag Temari had put down. Kankurō left the bathroom and Gaara went inside a moment later, shutting the door behind him.

"Is he coming too?" Kankurō asked in disbelief.

"Mhm." Rin said with a big smirk.

"How did you-?" Kankurō looked very concerned knowing that Gaara would probably never willingly go to a hot springs or pool. Temari chuckled while Rin just continued to smirk.

* * *

"Can I take this off yet?" Rin whined as she tugged at the large shirt and sweatpants Gaara made her wear over her bathing suit.

"No." Gaara said. Rin let out a loud sigh.

"But we're almost there." Rin said with puppy dog eyes. Gaara shook his head. Rin sighed again. A moment later her eyes lit up and she ran ahead towards a group of girls. "Tenten!"

"Hey Rin!" The brown haired girl called with a wave. Temari walked over to join them.

"This is Temari. She's pretty much my big sister." Rin said. Temari smiled.

"Why are you wearing that?" Tenten asked with a slight laugh. Rin started to pout and pulled off the shirt.

"Gaara made me put this over my suit." Rin whined. The group glanced back at Kankurō and Gaara who were taking their time walking over.

"Your suit is so cute." Ino said.

"Ya think so?" Rin asked with a grin.

"Uh-huh." Sakura nodded.

"Is anyone else coming?" Temari asked.

"A few of the guys said they'd try to come. They might be too busy training." Tenten said.

"Is Sasuke going to come?" Temari asked.

"I don't think so." Tenten said as Sakura and Ino started to glare at Temari slightly. Kankurō sighed and looked at Gaara who gave him a blank look.

"Is Naruto coming?" Rin asked. Sakura and Ino looked annoyed as they nodded. As Rin smiled Gaara began to frown.

…

Gaara sat, practically fuming, by the side of the pool. Rin and the rest of the girls were in the water, Kankurō was flirting with a few older girls on the other side of the pool and a few of the genin guys had arrived. Shikamaru was cloud watching on a chair, beside him Chouji was eating a bag of chips. Kiba and Akamaru were playing in the water, the small dog staying on Kiba's head as the boy slashed the girls. Missing was Sasuke, Neji, Lee (for obvious reasons), and Naruto. After about ten minutes the blonde ran in, slipped on the ground and fell into the water, splashing the girls.

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed at him. He popped out of the water and smiled with a sheepish chuckle.

"Sorry!" He said as he scratched the back of his head. He looked around and grinned when he spotted Rin close by. "Rin! Whoa…" He blinked and stared as his cheeks started to go pink.

"Hey Naruto!" Rin called with a wave. Naruto waved back and suddenly noticed Gaara who was giving him a death glare. Naruto headed over to Rin.

"What is _he_ doing here?" Naruto whispered.

"Huh?" Rin looked back at Gaara who, as soon as he saw her start to turn her head, had stopped glaring and settled on a blank face. "I invited him." Rin said as she turned back to Naruto. Naruto glanced over at Gaara to see he'd returned to glaring at the blonde.

"Hey, Rin," Tenten said as she waded over. "The girls are all gunna hang out at Sakura's and sleepover, you wanna come?"

"Sure!" Rin said with a big smile as she jumped up and down in the water.

"Hey!" Kiba called. "Let's play chicken!" Akamaru jumped off his head and onto the side of the pool and over to Ai before Kiba dived under the water. Ino suddenly let out a loud squeak as Kiba lifted her up onto his shoulders. He shook his head, spraying water from his hair everywhere, as he laughed.

"Kiba!" Ino smacked his head.

"Ey!" He flinched.

"I wanna play!" Rin said with a big smile. "Naruto!" she called.

"Huh?" He blinked. "Oh!" His eyebrows went up before he smiled. Gaara glared as Naruto went under the water before coming back up and lifting Rin onto his shoulders, his hands just above her knees. Rin laughed.

"You're going down!" Kiba called.

"Like you went down in our match?" Naruto laughed.

"Grr- you-!" Kiba glared at him. "You're gunna regret bringing that up! Go Ino!" They two pairs moved towards each other and the girls locked hands. "Come on, Ino!"

"She's stronger than she looks." Ino said as Rin giggled.

"Go Rin!" Naruto cheered.

"Go Ino!" Sakura cheered. Rin squeaked as she almost lost her balance. Gaara jumped slightly. His gourd sat beside him and the cork shifted slightly when he'd jumped.

"Come on Naruto!" Shikamaru called after he'd glanced over.

"Go Rin!" Chouji cheered.

"You're going down!" Ino said with a laugh as she tried to push Rin. Rin laughed.

"No way!"

"Come on!" Kiba shouted. Suddenly Rin pushed enough to make Ino fall back into the water, but she pushed too hard for she also fell forward pushing Naruto and Kiba under the water along with herself. Gaara flinched again and his knuckles turned white as the four popped back up, Kiba's hands were on Rin. "Whoa!" Kiba laughed. "Rin's on my team now!"

"What?!" Naruto shouted. "That's not fair! Your team lost!" he shouted as he point at him.

"Yeah, now I got a new team!" Kiba said with a laugh as he put an arm around Rin's shoulders. Gaara noticed her face turned pink and glared down at the water.

* * *

Gaara was frowning as Rin packed an overnight bag for the sleepover.

"I…" Rin stopped and looked back at him. "I thought you couldn't sleep without your..." Gaara swallowed. "…your Gaara-bear." he muttered as quietly as he could. He felt his cheeks heat up and avoided looking at her. Rin grinned as she sat down on the bed next to him and hugged him with a giggle.

"I can't." she said putting her head on his shoulder. "How about I stay until everyone else goes to bed then I come back?" she asked. Gaara put his arms around her and nodded.

"Okay." he said. Rin pulled away slightly to smile up at him. A small smile slowly formed on his face as he looked down at her. She leaned up to kiss his cheek making his face go pink. Rin stood and continued to pack. Ai meowed as he rubbed his head against Gaara's elbow. Gaara gently pet the cat's head a few times as it started to purr.

"Ai, you coming with me or staying here?" Rin asked. Ai jumped off the bed and rubbed against Rin's legs. Gaara sighed. "We'll be back tonight." Rin said as she put her bag over her shoulder. Gaara nodded. Rin walked up to him and kissed his kanji. She giggled as his cheeks went pink. "See ya later." She turned and Gaara stood.

"I can walk you there."

"Hm? Okay. You don't have to though."

"I want to." He said. Rin smiled.

"Okay." She said. The two left the hotel and Gaara surprised Rin by taking her hand as they walked.

* * *

Rin said goodnight to the girls before she and Ai left. The two started walking back to the hotel when Gaara jumped down from the roof.

"Were you waiting this whole time?" Rin asked as she blinked. Gaara nodded.

"I didn't want you walking alone so late." He said quietly. Rin smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks, Gaara." She said. Gaara nodded as he tried to ignore the colour that came to his cheeks. He took her hand and they headed back to the hotel. Ai jumped onto Rin's shoulder before walking across to Gaara's. Gaara turned his head to look at the cat as Ai rubbed his face against Gaara's. "Ai missed you." Rin said with a giggled before giving his hand a squeeze. Gaara smiled slightly and reached up to pet Ai with his other hand.

* * *

 **I can't really think of anything else so I think I'm going to be getting into show events again soon… unless anyone has any suggestions.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 **Coco96: I would have to agree with rinpup14 that jealousy is cute but it could be very lethal with Gaara. BUT you're idea is great so I hope you don't mind until we get past the whole Naruto getting through to Gaara for me to put it in.**

 **In reply to guest kaia: Rin rarely cries in this. She cries in the beginning as a child then kinda makes sure she doesn't cry in front of Gaara. If you mean she's childish, weak or a similar word then use that word. Crybaby is not an accurate description of her. And if you still think it is I'm actually very interested in hearing why (like a quick example).**

* * *

 _I need your love  
I need your time  
When everything's wrong  
You make it right_

 _I Need Your Love – Ellie Goulding_

"Where are you going?" Kankurō asked Rin as she headed for the door.

"Out."

"Out where?"

"You always leave around this time. Where do you go?"

"None of your business." Kankurō stood in front of her. "I'm going to visit Lee. Happy?" she asked.

"The kid with the caterpillar on his forehead?" Temari asked.

"That's mean!" Rin said.

"But true." Kankurō said. Rin frowned and quietly left. Temari smacked Kankurō upside the head and he flinched before holding his head. Gaara walked into the room and frowned.

"Where's Rin?" he asked.

"Uh she just left." Kankurō said.

"Where is she going?"

"The hospital-" Kankurō said.

"She's fine though!" Temari quickly said before Gaara could get upset.

"She's going to visit that kid." Kankurō said. Gaara frowned.

"Kid? What kid?" he growled.

"The one you fought; Lee." Temari said.

"Why would she go see him?" Gaara mumbled to himself. "How often does she go see him?"

"Uh… I think every Monday and Friday since we got here." Kankurō said. Temari gave him a warning look. The two looked at Gaara to see him staring blankly at the floor. "You goin' after her?" Kankurō asked. Gaara didn't answer and left the room. He left the inn and saw Rin walking in the opposite direction of the hospital. He could get to the hospital before her.

* * *

Rin walked into the hospital with another blue iris. She walked up to the reception desk and saw the 'out to lunch' sign. She shrugged and signed in on the clipboard.

"Hmm... Sakura's here too to see Lee…" Rin said quietly as she noticed the pink girl's name. "And Shikamaru's here to see Naruto?" Rin blinked. She didn't know Naruto was there. She hadn't seen him for a few days but he told her he'd be busy training. Rin figured he must've gotten hurt. She frowned and wished she'd known that before hand, she would've brought him a flower too. She'd have to go visit him after Lee.

…

Gaara stood over the unconscious Lee, sand had already snaked out of his gourd and was hovering over the bed. The sand moved towards Lee's face and suddenly Gaara couldn't move. Naruto punched Gaara in the face causing Shikamaru to cry out.

"What the heck do you think you're doing in here, you rat!?" Naruto shouted.

"Hey man, go easy." Shikamaru said. "I'm using my shadow possession jutsu so when you're bashing him you're bashing me too, you got it?"

"Oh, sorry, Shikamaru." Naruto said as he held up a hand. A bit of sand from Gaara's armor fell to the ground and there was a crack in his cheek. Naruto turned back to him. "Out with it, what were you trying to pull?" Gaara didn't answer and simply looked at the two. "Well? Are you gunna tell us what you were gunna do?" Naruto asked.

"I was going to kill him." Gaara said.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"You already beat him once in the competition." Shikamaru said. "What's your problem? Wasn't that enough for you? Do you have some sort of personal grudge against him or something?" Gaara's eyes looked at Lee.

"He…"

 _He's taking her from me. They all are…_

"It's nothing that complicated; I simply want to kill him. That's all." Gaara said.

"You know what!? You're sick in the head!" Naruto shouted. "You're crazy!"

"Yeah, you think we're gunna just stand by and let you do whatever you want." Shikamaru said. "You sick, selfish, psycho."

"If you don't stay out of my way I'll have to kill you two as well." Gaara said.

"Oh really?! Well let's just see you try it!" Naruto shouted.

"Hey whoa kid, take it easy!" Shikamaru said to Naruto. "Yeah, yeah, we watched your last match against Lee. We know you're tough." Shikamaru said. "But you know, Naruto and I have a few little tricks up our sleeves as well. We were holding back during the competition, there are things you haven't seen yet. On top of that, hey, it's two against one. So don't be a fool, okay? Just take my advice and go, quietly."

"I'll say it once more; if you get in my way I'll kill you." Gaara narrowed his eyes at them.

"And I'll say it again; let's see you try it!" Naruto shouted as he pointed at him.

"Back off, will ya, we don't wanna go there." Shikamaru hissed at Naruto. "This guy fights like he's mad, like he's a demon or something."

"He can act like a demon if he wants to, but ya know what? I got the real thing inside of me." Naruto said with a smirk. Shikamaru nudged Naruto with his elbow.

"Idiot, leave this to me, what's the point of getting him mad?" Shikamaru hissed.

"A demon, huh?"Gaara closed his eyes briefly. "My demon is as real as yours is. From my birth my upbringing was not what most would consider a happy one. To ensure that I became the strongest of shinobi, my father had cast his ninjutsu on me, infusing my unborn self with the sand spirit. I destroyed the life of the woman who gave birth to me. I was born a monster." Naruto and Shikamaru's eyes widened. "It's name is Shukaku and it's the living incarnation of an old monk of the sand village who'd been sealed up in a jar of tea."

"Yeah, some kind of demonic jutsu. But to use it on a baby, before it's even born, man that's creepy." Shikamaru said. Naruto looked from Shikamaru to Gaara. "Gee, what a swell guy your dad must'a been. He really must have loved you a lot."

"You speak of love?" Gaara asked. An image of Rin popped into his mind and his chest began to ache.

…

Rin walked down the hall and saw Gai standing in the doorway of Lee's room.

"Excuse me." she said. Gai turned to see her and looked a bit surprised. With him turned Rin could see Naruto and Shikamaru in the room as well and the sand all over the floor. Her eyes widened and she walked past Gai to see Gaara with his eyes wide – he'd heard her voice. Rin notice the sand on Lee's bed. "Gaara?" she asked with a frown. Gaara swallowed. His eyes went down to see the flower in her hand. Naruto and Shikamaru looked at her in shock and as she walked past them Shikamaru grabbed her arm.

" _Don't_." he said.

"Let go of her." Gaara immediately growled.

"It's okay." Rin told Shikamaru with a smile. He hesitantly let her go and she walked up to Gaara. She put the flower beside Lee on the bed and put her hands on Gaara's shoulders. "Gaara?" he couldn't meet her eyes. She moved her hands to his face and he took a step back. Rin frowned and gently grabbed his face anyways. He immediately closed his eyes and put his hands over hers. "Gaara." he opened his eyes slowly and met hers. "Were you going to hurt him?" she whispered. "Where you going to hurt them?" Gaara clenched his teeth only relaxing his jaw when Rin stroked the side of his head. Slowly the sand returned to the gourd. "Let's go back, huh?" Gaara nodded. Rin slowly took her hands from his face but he grabbed one of them. Rin smiled softly and let him hold it. She turned to the others. "I'm sorry, we'll be going now."

"You're gunna go with him?!" Naruto shouted.

" _Naruto!_ " Shikamaru hissed. Rin turned to look at Naruto with a small smile.

"I'm sorry." She said before walking past the two and stopping in front of Gai. She looked up at him and he stepped to the side. As the two left Gaara glanced back to glare at Naruto and Shikamaru.

* * *

As the two walked back to the inn Gaara's grip on Rin's hand was so tight it had started to hurt, but Rin wouldn't tell him that. Gaara's other hand was gripping his shirt over his heart. This was twice now Rin's seen what he's truly like, the monster he is. He knew she would never admit it but he was sure that he terrified her.

The two returned to the boy's room of the inn and found it empty. Gaara finally forced himself to let go of Rin's hand and realized how tightly he'd been hold it. He watched her open and close her hand, as subtle as she could, to gain the feeling back. Rin turned to face him and he looked away.

"Gaara?" she asked softly. He swallowed. Suddenly Rin was hugging him tightly. Gaara blinked in shock. He thought the last she would want to do would be to touch him. His arms wrapped around her and held her back just as tightly. "Won't you tell me what's wrong?" she whispered. "Everyone's been so nice; why would you want to hurt them?"

"Th-they…" Rin pulled back enough to look at him and he immediately closed his mouth when their eyes met. His chest started to ache again; she looked so sad.

"They what?" Rin asked when she realized he wasn't going to continue. "Gaara?" Gaara pulled Rin closer so her head was back on his shoulder and his hand gripped the back of her shirt. He couldn't get the words out. How would she react? He didn't even know how he was supposed to word how he felt.

"Do you…" Gaara started but then hesitated. "Do you… like… Lee?" Rin pulled back again and he looked away.

"Is that was this is about?" Rin asked. Gaara looked back at her and blinked. "Gaara, you're my best friend. No matter how many people I meet and make friends with you will always be number one." She said with a smile. Gaara's mouth opened slightly as he looked at her. She went on her toes and kissed his kanji. A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as she gave him a huge smile. "You'll always be my best friend, Gaara." She said.

"Forever and always." He said before kissing her forehead. Rin blinked and her face went pink before she giggled and hugged him tightly, laying her head against his chest.

* * *

 **Hey, I HAD to leave in the Gaara trying to kill Lee scene cause that's how Naruto learns that Gaara is like him. The reason for wanting to kill Lee is different than just bloodlust, b/c he feels that Lee is taking Rin away from him since she's choosing to spend time with Lee instead of Gaara.**

 **Kinda short but I did recently post a chapter and I wanted to reply to a review.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 **There is way too much to write if I were to do Naruto and Neji's match. I know that it's very eventful and everything but I have to skip it. I do not have the energy to do every fight. There are no scripts, I'm doing episode parts by ear. (Which is only cool cause I get to watch the show again but not cause I have to pause every two seconds.)**

 **Thank you guys so much for over 100 reviews!**

 **Obviously song part is for Shikamaru. I changed the song in the last chapter because I didn't realize I had already used it for chapter 18. The new one works better with the last chapter anyways.**

* * *

 _Today I don't feel like doing anything  
I just wanna lay in my bed  
Don't feel like picking up my phone  
So leave a message at the tone  
'Cause today I swear I'm not doing anything_

 _-Bruno Mars – The Lazy Song_

Temari and Kankurō were inside, Temari was cleaning her fan and Kankurō was working on Crow. Gaara and Rin were outside, sitting up on the roof.

"The moon's so big." Rin said with a small smile.

"Tomorrow is a full moon." Gaara said quietly.

"Really? It looks pretty big already." Rin said as she tilted her head to the side.

"Trust me."

"Are you nervous about tomorrow?" Rin asked. Gaara turned his head to look at her. "Well I guess _you_ wouldn't be nervous." Rin said with a smile. "More like… excited? I hope no one gets too hurt." Her smile faded. "I wonder if there will be time to say hi to your father tomorrow." Gaara frowned.

"Why would you want to do that?"

"It's only polite; we haven't seen him in a month."

"So?" Gaara asked. Rin shrugged. The two were silent for a few minutes before Gaara turned to Rin. "You should get to bed."

"Aw, but I wanna stay up here with you." Rin whined.

"Why would I stay up here without you?" Gaara asked before smiling slightly. Rin smiled and stood.

"Yeah, besides, I can't sleep without my- whoa!" Rin's eyes widened as her foot slipped. Gaara shot up and grabbed her. He sighed and shook his head.

"How you became a ninja is beyond me." he said. Rin smiled up at him sheepishly.

"I'm just a bit clumsy cause I'm tired." She said. Gaara sighed and picked her up which made her giggle as he jumped down. They entered the room and Gaara put her down. They got into bed and Rin put her head on his chest as he put an arm around her which had become routine. "I've really enjoyed this month." Rin said quietly. "It was like one giant sleep over." Gaara frowned as he suddenly remembered that once they got back to Suna he wouldn't be able to hold her every night. "When we get home we should have a sleep over at my house. I'm sure my parents miss you too." Gaara smiled.

"Okay."

* * *

"Good luck you guys." Rin said to the sand sibs before they were supposed to enter the arena.

"Thanks, squirt." Kankurō said before he ruffled her hair. The two older siblings turned to enter while Gaara stayed with Rin.

"I'm sure you won't need luck." Rin said with a smile. Gaara frowned slightly.

"Aren't you going to-" Rin cut him off by kissing his cheek.

"Mhm." She hummed making him smile slightly. "Good luck."

"Stay with Baki."

"Huh?" Rin blinked.

"Just… stay with Baki, okay?" Rin tilted her head but nodded.

"Okay, if you say so." She smiled up at him and he smiled back slightly. "I'll see you after you win!" Gaara nodded.

* * *

"Um, hi, could I sit next to you guys?" Rin asked. Sakura and Ino looked up at her.

"Sure." Ino said. Rin smiled.

"Thanks! I couldn't find anyone else I know." She said before she moved in and sat beside Sakura. Ai jumped up onto her lap.

"Awe." Sakura and Ino cooed.

"Could I pet him?" Sakura asked.

"Mhm." Rin nodded. Sakura reached over and pet the cat who then decided to move to her lap.

"I'm surprised he hasn't found Akamaru yet." Ino said.

"I don't think Kiba's here yet, cause otherwise yeah." Rin said. she glanced to the left and back. Baki sat a few rows up and over nearby. The other genin were all waiting in a line in the arena waiting for the ninja who were running late. Rin already knew Dosu wouldn't be showing up but she didn't know what happened to Naruto or Sasuke. Suddenly Naruto shot through the entrance and slid on the ground towards the others.

"Naruto." Sakura said.

"Yeah but he's totally late, of course." Ino said. Rin giggled from a few seats over.

"He sure is silly." She said.

"That's a word for it." Ino muttered. The third hokage started to speak.

"Welcome all, and our deepest thanks for coming here to the village hidden in the leaves for this year's chunin selection. We have come to the final competition between the eight candidates who made it through the preliminaries. We ask that no one leaves until all the matches have been completed. Now everyone enjoy." The jounin down with the candidates took out a paper and showed them.

"Hey wait, what happened to Dosu?" Ino asked with a frown.

"He must have dropped out." Sakura said. Rin swallowed and looked down at the candidates. Baki looked over at Rin.

 **Flashback**

From a distance Baki could see them on the roof. Dosu's blood covered the tiles as Gaara was hunched over, breathing heavy. His head shot up and he turned to see her. When he took a step towards her, Baki expected her to scream or run but, she just stood there. Gaara reached out to her and shook her. Her knees finally gave out but he caught her before holding her against him. Her arms hung by her side for a moment until they slowly wrapped around him. From where he stood, Baki couldn't hear them but he saw her kiss Gaara's temple and stroke his hair. The two finally stood, their hands locked, and she smiled up at him before pulling him into a hug.

 **Flashback end**

He couldn't wrap his head around it. She'd just seen him brutally murder someone and she hugs him. He knew they grew up together and were close but he didn't think Gaara would be able to calm down so quickly. If it had been anyone else that had walked up to him in that moment….

"Maybe he didn't leave, maybe somebody took him." Sakura said quietly.

"Huh? Took who?" Rin asked.

"Huh?" Sakura looked at her. "Oh. I was talking about Sasuke…"

"Oh yeah, he's late too." Rin finally noticed. She looked down to see everyone but Naruto and Neji leaving the arena.

"Hey Sakura?" Ino asked.

"Mhm?"

"I know that you're worried about Sasuke but come on, don't be such a lump; aren't you going to at least cheer Naruto on?" Sakura lifted her head and smiled.

"You're right!"

"That's more like it. Not that the hopeless little runt has a chance of winning."

"He's not that bad."

"Are you kidding? 'Not that bad' is that the best you can do?" Ino laughed.

"Hey, I think he's a pretty good fighter." Rin said. "He beat Kiba, didn't he?"

"Well yeah but-"

"He's strong enough. I believe in him." Rin said.

"Whatever…" Ino muttered. They look down into the arena to see Neji and Naruto facing each other. Naruto extended his arm like he had during the preliminaries. Neji got into a stance.

"Wish we could hear what they were saying…" Rin said with a small frown.

"Yeah, you'd think Naruto would be loud enough." Sakura said with a smile.

* * *

"That was amazing…" Rin said with her mouth hanging open as Naruto left and Neju was taken out by stretcher. The two girls nodded.

"I wonder what's going on. The next match, Sasuke should be here by now." Ino said.

"I wonder how long we'll wait until he gets here." Rin said. A jounin appeared beside the proctor and they spoke for a moment before the Jonin returned to the Hokage.

"Listen everyone, one of the competitors for the next battle has not arrived yet, so we're going to postpone this match briefly and jump ahead to the battle that would've followed this one."

"So cool," Ino said. "That means Sasuke is still in this."

"Then onto the next battle. So, Shino and Kankurō, come down."

"Oh we get to see Kankurō fight." Rin said with a smile.

"Proctor!" Kankurō called from the waiting area.

"Huh?" Rin blinked.

"I withdraw! I withdraw so please, advance to the next match!"

"Due to Kankurō's withdrawal, Shino Aburame wins by default." The proctor announced. The crowd was upset.

"I wonder why he withdrew…" Rin muttered to herself. Temari took out her fan and rode it down into the arena.

"Ey! You up there, come down!" The proctor called to Shikamaru. "Shikamaru Nara, come on!"

"Alright! Go on Shikamaru you can do it!" Naruto shouted as he slapped Shikamaru on the back, which cause the boy to fall over the railing and down to the arena on his back. Shikamaru glared up at Naruto as trash was thrown at him. Naruto shouted at him before Temari ran at Shikamaru before the proctor started the match. She swung her fan down and when the dust cleared it was revealed that she hit the ground while Shikamaru was standing on two kunai stuck in the wall. Temari looked up at him before swinging her open fan. The dust cleared and Shikamaru was gone, he was up in a tree.

"Go for it Shikamaru! Use that ultimate super technique on her, and take her down!" Ino cheered.

"Oh yeah, I forgot he's part of your team." Rin said.

"Yo is this seat taken?" Ino looked over to see Chouji eating a bag of chips.

"Huh? I thought you were in the hospital. Your stomach's okay now?"

"Mhm." He put a bag of snacks beside Ino before sitting down. "What's up? I thought Sasuke's match was supposed to be next." Ino flinched.

"Shhhh!"

"Huh?" the two looked over at Sakura who was sulking.

"Oh, I'm sure Sasuke's fine; he'll be here any minute now." Ino told her. Chouji noticed Rin sitting beside Sakura.

"Oh hey, Cupcake girl!"

"Hey Chouji." Rin greeted with a smile and a small wave.

"Thanks again for the cupcake." He said. "Hm. Never expected to see Shikamaru in the final." Chouji said. "Weird."

"What do you mean? Come on, Shikamaru may not have as much fighting spirit as some other people and okay his technique is pretty lousy but he's strong at strategy. So strong in fact, that without him we might not have gotten through the preliminary round."

"Hm, maybe." Chouji said into a back of chips.

"What's more, you should have seen how he threw himself into the arena." Ino said. Chouji popped the bag.

"I don't think that's what happened." Rin muttered.

"I'm telling you Chouji, he seems unusually aggressive. I think he's gunna show us his passionate side today. Yeah! Go Shikamaru!" Ino cheered.

"Go Temari!" Rin cheered. Ino shot her a glare which made Rin jump.

"Get your butt in gear! Let's go Shikamaru!" Naruto shouted. Shikamaru stood under the wall's shadow. Temari used one of her wind jutsus as she swung her fan out. The wind was so strong it cut into the trees and cut off branches. A shadow shot out from the dust and Temari back flipped to get away from it until it couldn't reach her. She drew a line on the ground with her fan.

"Temari's got this in the bag." Rin said with a grin. Shikamaru put his fingertips together. After a moment he took one hand away and reached behind his back. Tenmari opened her fan before swinging it. Shikamaru ducked behind a tree.

"Look at that, he can't get anywhere near her." Ino said. "Go Shikamaru! Do something!"

"Don't waste your breath." Chouji said with his mouth full. "He'll give up soon. This is way too much work for him."

"What are you talking about? No way he's gunna give up. Least, I don't think he's gunna give up." She said.

…

The wind died down for the fifth time and Temari looked around before she swung again. A kunai came out and landed just behind the line. Temari moved out of the way before blocking one with her fan. A shadow shot out at her but was able to cross the line. She jumped back out of the way. The shadow of the wall had gotten longer.

"Rats! He almost got her!" Ino said.

"Why did he take his shirt off?" Rin asked with her head tilted.

"How's Shikamaru gunna use his shadow anyway?" Chouji asked. "I mean, what's he gunna do? He's in the shadow of the arena already."

"Unbelievable you really don't know anything about what Shikamaru's capable of, do you? He can do anything, he can even make shadows within shadows."

"Shadows within shadows?"

"Temari! Over your head!" Kankurō shouted. Temari looked up as a shadow appeared on the ground and grew as Shikamaru's jacket attached to a kunai overhead grew closer. She jumped out of the way but the added shadow gave the original more range. Temari dodged the shadow until the jacket hit the ground. Temari looked up at the sun before putting her fan into the ground in front of her. She made a few hand signs but then stopped as she couldn't move.

"Oh no…" Rin whined. Shikamaru turned his head so Temari could see behind her at the shadow coming out of the hole in the ground from where Naruto had popped out in his match. The hole in front of Temari was where he had gone in. Shikamaru walked forward making Temari walk towards him.

"You got her! Way to go!" Ino cheered. Shikamaru made then raise their arms.

"Okay that's it, I give up." He said.

"He what?!"

"You gotta be kidding me!"

"See, I told you he'd give up." Chouji said. "Looks like I know Shikamaru a little bit better than you do, huh."

"The winner is Temari!" The proctor announced. The shadow disconnected.

"Yeah!" Rin cheered as she jumped up.

"Uggh! What a waste!" Ino shouted before she started shaking Chouji. "Why?! What does he think?! Doesn't he wanna be a chunin?!"

"What can you say, it's Shikamaru." Chouji said. Naruto started shouting before he jumped down into the arena. He ran up to Shikamaru who was stretching.

"So up next is Gaara's match, right?" Rin asked. Sakura nodded sadly. Sasuke was nowhere to be seen and the crowd was getting upset again. The jounin from before jumped down behind the proctor, said something, then left again. The proctor took out a pocket watch.

…

"Alright, the time limit has expired so I'm officially calling this match-" The proctor was cut off by a whirlwind of leaves. There, back to back, stood Sasuke and Kakashi. Sasuke was wearing black clothes instead of his blue ones.

"Sasuke!" Sakura gasped.

"So he made it in time."

"(Rock) Lee!" Sakura and Rin said. Ino was cheering loudly for Sasuke as was the rest of the crowd.

"Sakura, what's it like to be on such an amazing team?" Ino asked her

"What do you mean?"

"You know! First Naruto surprises everyone by beating Neji Hyuga! Oh and then you've got Sasuke who's like a super star! Everyone wants to see his match. You're like the all star team!"

"Lee, would you like to sit down?" Rin asked.

"I am alright." He said as he gave her a smile. Ai hopped off of Sakura's lap and rubbed against Lee's leg. "Hello, Ai." Lee smiled down at the cat. Ai stood, putting his paws against Lee's left leg and meowed at his bleeding hand. Lee reached down with his other hand and pet him. Ai rubbed against Lee's hand before sitting by his feet.

* * *

 **Ending it here cause it's getting long. Next one is also a long one.**

 **Recently finished Saints Row 4 and I keep forgetting the guy who voices Sasuke voices Matt Miller.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 **ZabuzasGirl: Yeah it was a really short flashback but there wasn't really much to write about for it. Reply continues at the bottom because of spoilers.**

 **I can't wait to post the 26** **th** **chapter. It's a long one and it's all original stuff. I know I updated recently but I wanted to get this out there.**

 **I don't particularly like the song below but I'm only using it for the lyrics.**

* * *

 _I am spinning out_

 _Kissing asphalt_

 _It's all crashing down_

 _I am spinning out_

 _Kissing asphalt_

 _I am pavement bound_

 _-Kissing Asphalt – The Go-go's_

"Alright Gaara, come down here!" The proctor called. Shikamaru and Naruto left the arena. Soon Gaara came down. The two faced each other.

…

Sakura and Gai turned at the sound of someone walking down the steps.

"Hello Gai." Kakashi said. "How are you feeling, Lee? Are you alright?"

"Kakashi." Gai said.

"Kakashi-sensei." Sakura said.

"Oh right, sorry about that." He said to her. "You must've been worried. Sorry for not keeping in touch." Sakura faced forwards again.

"I don't mind. That's okay." She said. Rin looked over at the pink haired girl as she looked down at Sasuke with a frown. She lowered her head. "Listen, Sensei…"

"Hm?"

"You know that there was a mark on Sasuke's neck, right?" she asked. "Well, is it…?"

"It's nothing to worry about." Kakashi said. Sakura looked back at him while Ino looked between the two. "So, that's that." Sakura nodded before she looked back towards the arena. Kakashi looked around and counted eight ANBU. Rin glanced back at him. "Eight of them. Eight members of the ANBU black ops in an arena this size? That's nowhere near enough. What could lord Hokage be thinking?"

"Well, not knowing how the enemy's going to act the ANBU black ops have probably been dispersed and stationed around key parts of the village." Gai said. The crowd started to cheer.

"Huh?"

"It's starting." Gai said. "We can't afford to let our guard down. But for now at least need to watch this match." Rin looked back down at the arena. She saw Gaara look up towards her. Rin couldn't help herself and waved with a big smile. He and Sasuke walked towards the middle. The proctor raised his hand and looked between the two before dropping it and jumping back out of the way. Gaara's sand came out of the gourd and Sasuke jumped back. Gaara grabbed his forehead as if he suddenly had a headache. Rin frowned.

"Gaara?" she whispered with worry. The sand suddenly fell. Rin looked back at Baki but his eyes were on Gaara. When Rin looked back the sand was up again and Gaara had his arms crossed. Sasuke threw two shuriken but of course Gaara's sand blocked it. The sand then formed a clone who was holding them. Sasuke started running at him but the clone blasted sand at him. Sasuke jumped to avoid it as the clone threw the shuriken back. Sasuke threw more to deflect them. As he came down he went for a kick to the clone but the clone blocked it causing its arms to burst. Sasuke turned on his hands to get back up and went for a hit to the clone's throat. The sand soon formed around Sasuke's wrist but he hit the clone through the face and it dispersed. Sasuke went to punch the real Gaara as a sand shield came up. Suddenly Sasuke was gone and appeared behind Gaara like Lee had during their match. Sasuke landed the punch to Gaara's cheek which sent him flying and skidding across the ground. Gaara sat up and glared at Sasuke as the armor from his cheek cracked. Sasuke motioned for Gaara to attack but Gaara just glared at him. A moment later Sasuke started running at him. Gaara brought up his sand shield but Sasuke skid around him and landed a kick to his check. He went flying once more, his sand swirling around him to catch him and soften the landing. Gaara stood as Sasuke ran at him again. His sand circled him as Sasuke sprinted around him, so fast no one would tell where he was. Sasuke suddenly left the circle and kicked Gaara before grabbing him by his sash and kneeing him in the gut. Sakura hear a gasp and felt Rin flinch beside her. She looked to see the blue haired girl watching the match with wide eyes.

"His training, what did you two do?" Gai asked.

"Huh?"

"To get to such a level in a mere month."

"Sasuke has copied Lee's Taijutsu with his sharingan. Do during the taijutsu training I did with Saskue. I simply had him imagine Lee's movement and copy it. Sasuke mastered that Taijutsu only because he knew Lee. Of course, Sasuke had to work very hard to master it even with his sharingan." Gaara stood and put his hands together in a sign. His sand surrounded him and formed a sphere around him, slowly so his eyes were the last thing visable to Sasuke who had started running at him. Sasuke threw a punch but the sand had spiked out right before he hit, it had cut his cheek and leg and had hurt his knuckles when they hit the hardened sand. He jumped back and the spikes receded.

"The sand has covered his entire body." Lee said.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted as he and Shikamaru ran up behind them. They stopped at the top of the steps to catch their breath.

"Naruto." Lee said.

"Wha? What is it, Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"Sensei, please! You just have to stop this match, right away!" Naruto said.

"What?"

"The guy Sasuke is fighting is completely different than the rest of us!" Rin turned to look back at him. "He's about as far from normal as you can get!"

"Naruto, slow down, what are you trying to say?" Ino asked.

"This guy's crazy! He kills just because! Don't you see!? If this continues, Sasuke will die! You've gotta believe me!" Naruto shouted. Rin stood.

"Gaara won't kill him!" Everyone looked at her. "He won't…" she shook her head.

"Relax. No need to panic." Kakashi said. Everyone looked at him. "You know, Sasuke and I weren't just goofing around. There's a reason we were so late getting here." Down in the arena sand swirled above the sphere and a sand eye appeared. Sasuke ran at the sphere and threw kunai, which bounced off, before running at the back. More spikes came out as he attempted a hit to the sphere and followed him when he backed away. He dodged them as they shot out at him then jumped off the top. Sasuke brought his arm up and unclipped the black band going around his arm.

"Sensei." Sakura said.

"Hm?"

"You said there was a good reason you late. What were you doing?"

"Hm, well it's kinda a long story."

"Oh come on, would you please do something!? This is no time for talking." Naruto said.

"You're right, so shut up and watch." Kakashi snapped. Everyone looked to him again. "Keep your eye on Sasuke he's about to surprise you." Rin turned to look at the match. Sasuke did a bunch of back flips before sliding back up the wall almost to the top. He did a bunch of hands signs before putting his hand against the wall. Lightning started to spark around his hands.

"But it can't be." Gai turned to Kakashi.

"If you wondered why I always insisted on training Sasuke myself, now you know." Kakashi said. "It's because he's like me." The lightning had made a dent in the wall and proceeded to do so wherever it went as Sasuke started running down the wall.

"A physical activation." Gai said. "I see; that's what you were doing all this time. You were building his speed up to the level required."

"Exactly." Kakashi said.

"It's amazing." Sakura said. "His chakra is actually visible. How is that even possible?" Sasuke reached the ground and continued running towards the sphere.

"Whoa, I've never seen him do that before." Naruto said.

"That bazaar noise, what sort of technique is it?" Sakura asked.

"It's a jab." Gai said.

"A what?"

"But this jab is a jab like no other. It's the only weapon in Kakashi's arsenal he didn't copy from someone else. It's the weapon on choice for assassinations." Rin's eyes widened and she turned back to watch. "The secret of the jab is the speed in which it is delivered and a ninja's ability to focus its chakra at the point of impact. Once these two elements, speed and focus, have obtained a certain level the chakra actually becomes visible and gives off the distinctive sound that you hear, like birds chirping." As Sasuke came close to the sphere sand spikes came out but he managed to dodge them. "It is this sound that gives the technique its name. Chidori: one thousand birds!" Sasuke's hit landed. Everyone gasped and watched in shock as Sasuke's fist went into the sphere. "Also known as lightning blade."

"Why's that?" Sakura asked.

"It got that name, because Kakashi once used it to cut a bolt of lightning in half before it could touch the ground." Gai said. "But whether called thousand birds or lightning blade, it's a technique on unimaginable power. Requiring almost inhuman levels of speed and chakra. But once perfected it transforms a ninja's arm into an indestructible and invincible sword. A dangerous technique not to be taught lightly."

"Yeah, you're one to talk." Kakashi said. He crouched and cupped his hand by his mouth. "Right Lee?"

"Well, whatever, I don't understand a word of it." Sakura said. "All I know is it looks awesome!" Everyone looked back to the match. Suddenly Gaara screamed and Rin felt her heart stop.

" _BLOOD! IT'S MY BLOOD!_ "

"Gaara!" Rin shouted. She moved past the others and ran down to the bottom of the steps and gripped the railing. "Gaara!" Sasuke tried to pull his arm out but it was stuck. He tried using chakra and it was visible for a moment before he finally pulled his arm free but with something else attached. He fell back onto the ground.

"What's that?" Gai stared in shock along with the others. It looked like an arm with claws at the end. Sasuke moved back and held his arm in pain. The arm receded back into the sphere. Everything was quiet until suddenly a screech sounded which shook the whole arena. The sphere started to crack before the sand became soft and fell around Gaara finally making him visible. He was breathing heavy and holding an arm to his shoulder where blood seeped through his fingers.

"Gaara!" Rin called when she saw the blood. Gaara's head popped up when he heard her and their eyes met. Suddenly Rin's eyes widened in shock and her body jolted as Gaara's eyes slowly grew wider. He didn't want to believe what he was seeing.

"Rin?..." His voice came out just above a whisper. Rin coughed up blood as the katana that had run her through was pulled out just as quickly as it had gone in. " _NOOO! RIIIIN!"_ Gaara's blood curdling scream rang out as her body fell back and out of sight. His scream was so loud it wasn't even drowned out by the explosion that happened above the center stadium where the kazes were.

* * *

"Release." Rin felt groggy and groaned as she blinked her eyes open. "Hey." her vision slowly focused.

"Huh? Who…?" Shino sighed as Rin blinked. "You're…?"

"Shino Aburame." He reminded her.

"Right." Rin slowly sat up. "What happened?"

"A genjutsu. You fell back and hit your head too." Rin looked around and saw everyone else asleep.

"Huh? Where's Gaara? What's happening?"

"Your village is attacking the leaf."

"W-what?" Rin's eyes widened. Shino leaned a bit closer to her.

"You know nothing about this…" Rin couldn't tell if it was a question or a statement but answered anyways.

"No, I-I didn't know- "

 _Just… stay with Baki, okay?_

"They…" Rin gasped. "Where did Gaara and the others go?" Rin stood. "Wait.. where is Sakura? A-And Naruto and Shikamaru. They're gone too." Rin turned and looked down into the arena. "And Sasuke?"

"They left to stop your friends." Shino said as he stood. "Even if you hurry I doubt you'll catch up to them." Rin turned to look at him. "But if you stay here you'll likely be arrested."

"I can catch up." Rin said. She made a bunch of hand signs then bit her thumb and pressed it to the ground. Shino moved back as the area began to glow. Rin stood as a large sand coloured cat appeared. She climbed onto its back and looked back at Shino. "We can catch up. _Ai._ " The black cat jumped on behind her. "Thanks for waking me up." Shino nodded. "And… I'm sor-"

"The more time you waste here the farther away they become." Shino said. Rin nodded.

"Right. _Rei!_ " she said to the feline who then leaped from the stands.

* * *

"Shikamaru!"

"Huh? Rin- Whoa!" Shikamaru blinked at the large cat that landed in front of where he sat. He looked up at Rin.

"Shikamaru, where-?" Rin was cut off as Rei ducked down so Rin wouldn't be hit by a kunai. Rin put her hands over her head. "I'm not attacking! I'm not attacking!" she squeaked. Asuma watched her suspiciously as she cowered on the large cat. "I'm just trying to find Gaara. I had no idea any of this was going to happen." Rin lifted her head and looked down at Shikamaru. "You have to believe me."

"I trust her." Shikamaru said to Asuma. "She's too nice to go along with something like this. She made everyone cupcakes for crying out loud." Rin smiled slightly in relief.

"We can't let you go though." Asuma said. Rin's eyes widened.

"Please, I have to know Gaara's alright. He's never been hurt before. Please?" Rin looked from Shikamaru to Asuma.

"And if there's a fight between one of the leaf ninja and your friends?" Asuma asked.

"I'm more of a medic than a fighter." Rin said.

"How'd you ever pass your genin exam?" Shikamaru said with a frown.

"To be honest… I think the Kazekage made them pass me." Rin admitted. "I'm not saying I _can't_ fight but not well enough to beat any of you guys."

"Why do you say he made them pass you?" Shikamaru said.

"Because of Gaara. I'm not stupid. I know the only reason I was allowed to come here with them was because of Gaara. He's… calmer around me; he's happier. He used to be so…" Rin looked down. "If I hadn't passed my exam, Gaara and I would've been more separated."

"So take you away and he loses control?" Shikamaru asked.

"W-Well… he's never lost control. Not really."

"Right before everyone was affected by the genjutsu he was shouting your name." Asuma said.

"Shouting? The guy was screaming." Shikamaru said. Rin blinked.

"He did? The last thing I remember is the sand sphere breaking." She said. Shikamaru nodded.

"Then you passed out and then he started screaming as if … something had happened to you." Shikamaru said with a small frown.

"If they know how much she means to him they could've used another genjutsu." Asuma said.

"For what?" Rin asked as she looked between the two.

"For Gaara. I think he saw something happen to you after you'd passed out."

"Please, that's even more of a reason to let me go find him! I promise I won't fight anyone o-or hurt anyone. Here," Rin reached behind her and picked up Ai. "If I leave Ai here, I'll come back for him after I make sure Gaara is okay."

"I've had enough with animals for one day." Shikamaru muttered. He could've sworn Ai started glaring at him.

"You'd better get going." Asuma said. Rin's face lit up and she put Ai down.

"Thank you so much. Oh, Shikamaru, here." Rin reached into her pouch before she tossed Shikamaru a small first aid kit. He caught it and looked up at her. "I know it's not much but I only have two." Shikamaru blinked.

"Um, thanks."

"Be good, Ai." Rin said before she took off on Rei. Ai walked up to Shikamaru and sat in front of him. Shikamaru frowned as the cat simply stared at him.

"Shoo…"

* * *

 **So while Rin was unconscious is when everything else happened. I couldn't find a way to change things in the right way and I was too lazy to try. And if you're asking how Shino could be there to wake Rin up but also get to Sasuke and Kankurō before her…. Don't. I have no way to answer that because it's probably not possible but I needed it to be for this to work. Or maybe it could've been a clone that woke her, idk. I needed someone to wake her up who knew about the genjutsu but it couldn't be anyone else.**

 **Next one is kinda short but that's cause I had to take it off of this one otherwise this one would've been over 4,000 words.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 **Song doesn't really fit the chapter but it kinda fits the general story.**

* * *

 _I dreamed I was missing  
You were so scared  
But no one would listen  
'Cause no one else cared_

 _Leave out all the rest – Linkin Park_

"Crow?" Rin stopped Rei beside the fallen puppet. "But then… Kankurō!" she called.

"Rin?" Rin looked around until she spotted him on a branch. She jumped off of Rei and up to him.

"Kank- why are you covered in bugs!" Rin squeaked. "Ewww!"

"Never mind that," Kankurō groaned. "just – just help me get them off! They're draining my chakra!"

"A-Are you sure? Remember last time you asked me to help you?"

"Rin! Just do it!"

"Okay okay!" Rin made a bunch of hand signs before making a circle with her fist and blowing into it. Water shot from her hand and hit Kankurō making him cry out in surprise.

"Ack! That's cold!" Kankurō stood up with shaky legs as the beetles covering him washed away.

"I can't regulate the temperature, _your highness_!" Rin snapped with a frown as she crossed her arms.

"Rin, what are you doing here?"

"What do you mean what am I doing here?" Rin put her hands on her hips. "Shino had to wake me up cause you guys forgot about me!"

"We didn't forge- wait, Shino?"

"Yeah the bug-! Oh…" Rin blinked. Kankurō face palmed.

"Yeah, _oh_. Look we didn't forget about you, okay?"

"And what's- what's with attacking the leaf!?" Rin threw up her hands.

"If we had told you, you never would have come then Gaara wouldn't have come!"

"Of course I wouldn't have come if I'd known! Was this the plan all along? What were you going to do when I found out?"

"Baki was supposed to take you away. We knew you wouldn't recognize the genjutsu. But Gaara didn't follow the plan."

"Where is he?"

"He's up ahead with Temari. He was still unconscious last I saw."

" _Still_ _unconscious?_ I thought he couldn't be unconscious."

"Okay, not _exactly_ unconscious but he lost a lot of chakra."

"What happened?"

"He was losing control of…"

"Shukaku? I'm not stupid, I know its name. If he's low on chakra then it won't take over, right?"

"He's recovering. He should be fine soon."

"I'm going on ahead, will you be alright? You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"

"I'll be fine, but… Rin I don't think you should go after him."

"What? Why wouldn't I?"

"You've never seen it."

"Why does that matter? I need to know he's okay." She said. Kankurō hesitated before he sighed.

"Then… just be careful, alright?"

"Of course."

"I'll catch up soon." Kankurō said before Rin took off on Rei.

* * *

Rei was running across the forest floor when suddenly the earth shook as if there was an explosion. Rin looked up to see a large cloud of dust and smoke. The ground shook more as something in the smoke walked forward. Rin's eyes widened.

"Shukaku…" she breathed. "Rei." The feline stopped and Rin got off. "I can go from here. Thank you." She bowed her head and the feline did the same before it disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Rin jumped up into the trees and kept moving. There was another explosion but when the smoke cleared there was a giant toad. "What the…?" Rin landed on a branch a tree away from Sasuke who was laying on it. "Sasuke!" she jumped over and crouched next to him.

"You?" he managed to get out. He looked to be in pain.

"You're hurt." She reached out to him but he hit her hand away.

"You're with them!" He growled.

"I wasn't part of it I swear! I had no idea this was going to happen!"

"Yeah, right!"

"Look, you're hurt just let me- … huh?" Rin looked up upon hearing another groan and saw Sakura attached to a tree. "Sakura!" Rin jumped to the tree.

"Stay away from her!" Sasuke shouted as he struggled to get up. Rin reached into her pouch and took out a kunai before trying to break the sand.

"Rin?!" Rin stopped and looked back to see Temari.

"Temari!"

"What are you doing here?" The older girl jumped over and grabbed Rin before returning to her hiding place.

"Temari?"

"Just stay here, it's dangerous-!" The toad ran at Shukaku and sliced off one of its arms before landing again. The earth shook and a gust of wind slapped Temari, Rin and Sasuke in the face.

"Interesting! Interesting! Not bad, Naruto Uzumaki!" Rin and Termari gasped as Gaara's voice, though much deeper and rougher, echoed throughout the area.

"We have to get out of here!" Temari shouted. She grabbed Rin's arm and jumped away.

"Wha-!? Temari! We can't just go!"

"It's too dangerous!"

"Then what about Sasuke and Sakura?! We can't just leav-!"

"Yes we can! Gaara would never forgive me if you got hurt, let alone killed!" Temari shouted as she dragged Rin through the trees. A different voice echoed through the area. Soon there were explosions coming from behind them.

"Temari please!" Rin pleaded. "I know that thing has control of him but I can't just leave him!"

"You have to! Please, Rin!"

"I'm sorry!" Rin tore her arm free from Temari's grip and headed back.

" _Rin!"_

…

Rin made it back to where Sasuke and Sakura were in time to see the toad transform into the nail tailed fox. Shukaku attacked sending a large gust of wind at the area. Rin was knocked off her branch but managed to grab another and hold on until the wind died.

"Why'd you come back?" Sasuke asked as Rin jumped onto his branch. She didn't answer, her gaze locked onto the fight. The fox suddenly turned back to the toad and she saw the small dot that was Naruto fly off its head and towards Shukaku's. Sasuke and Rin stared at the Shukaku complained.

"I just got here!" The yellow eye faded to a dull tan as Gaara woke up. He pushed the toad back, knocking down trees. They could see Naruto stuck on Shukaku's head. Suddenly Naruto was surrounded in orange chakra like he was during his fight with Neji. He let out a yell as his headband flew off and his jacket burst open. Naruto jumped up and Gaara's sand caught him, his fist raised.

"I've had it with you!" He shouted as he headbutted Gaara. All of Shukaku started to crack and crumble before it all collapsed.

"Gaara!" Rin gasped. The toad disappeared in smoke which sent the two ninja into nearby trees. The large katana was stuck in the earth between the two. The sand holding Sakura up started to collapse and Sasuke jumped to catch her. Rin jumped with him. He put her down next to a dog.

"I'll leave her with you." He said to the dog before he jumped away.

"Where-?" Rin looked after him.

"What do I-?" The dog stopped. Rin stood and hesitated as she looked down at Sakura. The dog looked up at her when she stood. "Where are you going?"

I have to get to Gaara!" Rin said before she jumped away.

…

When she got to them Naruto had crawled half way over Gaara who lay on the ground. Sasuke was crouched beside Naruto.

"Gaara!" Rin shouted as she ran towards him. Gaara's eyes widened and his head slowly turned to her.

"Rin…?"

"Gaara!" Rin skid on her knees to him. Gaara stared up at her with wide eyes.

"You're…okay?" Rin nodded and gently held his face as tears came to her eyes. He closed his eyes. "You're okay." He repeated.

"I'm fine." She said as her bottom lip quivered. Her tears hit his cheek and Gaara opened his eyes.

"Don't cry, Rin…" Temari and Kankurō landed in a crouched position between the two and Naruto and Sasuke. "That's enough." Gaara said. "It's over."

"But Gaara-" Kankurō said. He looked back at his younger brother who couldn't even move. "Alright, Gaara." He said before putting his arm around him and lifting him up. Temari and Rin stood as Gaara lifted his head to look at Naruto and Sasuke before the four jumped away.

…

"Temari… Kankurō…"

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry."Gaara said. Temari and Kankurō exchanged a look.

"Don't worry about it." Kankurō said.

* * *

 **Next one is the long one with some cute scenes. If anyone has any cute scenes to suggest after the next chapter let me know ^_^ At some point I will be doing the fake date thing someone requested earlier. (I forget who it was at the moment, sorry ^^")**

 **I was thinking, since this is so short, should I just post the next chapter tonight too?**


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 **First paragraph of this chapter is from the wikia but I'm too lazy to thing of another way to write it. But also this is me telling you guys I don't own that paragraph.**

* * *

 _I don't want this moment to ever end,  
Where everything's nothing without you.  
I'd wait here forever just to, to see you smile,  
'Cause it's true, I am nothing without you._

 _With me- sum 41_

Having realized that something had happened to their Kazekage, Sunagakure scoured the Land of Wind looking for him. They finally found his body and, realizing they had been manipulated into the invasion by Orochimaru, immediately informed Konoha of what had happened. They surrendered to Konoha and offered their apologies, which Konoha accepted. The two villages formed a peace treaty and Sunagakure, inclined to make amends, would thereafter come to Konoha's aid if ever there was need.

…

Gaara let out a sigh of content as Rin snuggled closer in his arms. Her head was tucked under his chin, her hair tickling his nose, and her arms were between them. One of her hands had a loose grip on his shirt. Rin shifted slightly and made a small waking up noise.

"Good morning." Gaara said as Rin opened her eyes. She smiled up at him.

"Good morning." She whispered.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Mhm." Rin hummed as she tucked her head back under his chin and put her arms around him. Gaara smiled and closed his eyes. Rin suddenly made a sad whine into his shirt. Gaara opened his eyes and frowned.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he gently stroked her hair.

"I miss Ai."

* * *

Ai and Shikamaru sat, staring at each other, a game of shogi between them. Shikamaru sighed.

"When is she coming back for you?" he groaned.

"Shikamaru Nara?"

"Yea-?" Shikamaru turned and stopped when he saw the cat, Hayate. "Another one?"

"You are Shikamaru, yes?"

"Yeah."

"My mistress has asked me to deliver a message to you." The cat cleared his throat before reciting the message from memory. "I'm sorry for just leaving Ai with you, I thought I would be able to come back for him but Gaara was hurt worse than I thought. I'm really really sorry, I hope you don't mind him staying with you for a week until I can come and get him."

"A _week_? It's already _been_ a two weeks!" Shikamaru said with a frown.

"She suggested asking Naruto to take him but then immediately said never mind. She's under the impression that none of the leaf ninja like her anymore because of what happened even though the two villages are allies once more. She probably wouldn't want me to tell you but she's scared to come back."

"Couldn't you take him back with you?" Shikamaru asked.

"It's a long journey and I am unable to carry food and water."

"How did you get here then?"

"I can survive off less food and water than the average… house cat." Ai shot the other cat a glare.

"This is such a drag." Shikamaru sighed. "If she's so scared to come get him, how exactly does she plan on getting him?"

"She was going to have me come to fetch him once she was outside the village." Hayate said. Shikamaru sighed again.

...

Shikamaru knocked on Naruto's door. A moment later the blond opened it.

"Oh, hey Shikamaru. What brings you here?" Naruto asked. Shikamaru held out Ai by the scruff of his neck. Naruto blinked.

"Here."

"Isn't this Rin's cat? Is she here?" he looked utterly confused as he looked around.

"She had to leave him behind last week. He's been staying with me."

"So why are you giving him to me?"

"She's not coming to get him for another week."

"Oh."

"Yeah." Naruto took the cat from Shikamaru. Ai immediately glared at Shikamaru who turned away. "Have fun." Naruto blinked and looked down at the cat that looked up at him.

"I've never had a cat before." Naruto said with a small smile. Ai suddenly looked worried.

* * *

"I'm sure Ai is fine." Kankurō said. "You left him with a smart one right?" he asked before taking a drink of tea.

"Yeah I know." Rin said with a frown as she pushed her breakfast around on her plate. "But Shikamaru is so lazy what if he forgets to feed him?"

"I'm sure Ai will just figure out a way to open the fridge." Kankurō said with a shrug.

"You left Ai with _him_?" Temari asked.

"Yeah. What's wrong with Shikamaru? You won your match against him." Rin said.

"She didn't win, he gave up." Kankurō corrected into his cup. Temari shot him a glare.

"Ai will be fine." Gaara said putting a hand on Rin's arm. "If you're worried you could send Hayate to stay with them."

"Yeah I'm sure Shikamaru would appreciate that." Rin said before putting her head on the table. Gaara frowned and rubbed her back.

"Why don't you just go and get him sooner?" Kankurō asked.

"Kenta is on a mission so I have to help out at home while he's gone."

"I could do that." The three looked at Gaara. "That way you can get Ai."

"You're not going with her?" Kankurō asked. Gaara shook his head with a frown. "She'll be gone for a week. Three days there, three days back, plus she'll probably stay there a day or two." Gaara's frown deepened.

"I know." He almost growled as he resisted the urge to glare at his brother.

"It'll be good for them." Temari said. Kankurō raised an eyebrow at her and Gaara looked at her in confusion. "Gaara, you've been attached to Rin ever since we got back." Gaara looked away as his face started to match his hair.

"Give the guy a break, Temari, he thought she was dead." Kankurō said as he nudged her with his elbow. Rin took Gaara's hand and he gave it a squeeze.

"I understand that." Temari said. "But a girl needs her space sometimes."

"Um, Temari?" Rin asked.

"Hm?"

"Could…Could you come with me?"

"Of course, Rin, what are big sisters for?" Temari smiled. Rin's face lit up.

"Thank you."

"We could leave tomorrow morning."

"Okay." Gaara's hand twitched. Rin turned to him. "When I get back we can have a huge sleepover, okay?" Gaara nodded.

"Don't you think it's time for you to sleep in your own house?" Kankurō asked. Gaara shot him a glare. Rin frowned slightly.

"I guess you're right." She said. Gaara looked at her with wide eyes. "We'll just have the sleepover at my house!" Gaara looked relieved and smiled. Kankurō chuckled and shook his head.

* * *

"So, I'll see you in about a week." Rin said. Gaara nodded with a frown. She went on her toes and kissed his cheek.

"Be careful." He said.

"Don't worry, I'll have Temari. And I am a ninja remember?" Gaara chuckled and didn't look reassured.

"Just be careful, okay?" Rin pouted and stuck her tongue out at him. He smiled and kissed her cheek. Rin blinked and tried to hide a smile. "See you in a week." Rin threw her arms around him in a hug and he hugged her back tightly.

"Alright, come on you two. It's not the end of the world." Temari said. Gaara hesitantly let Rin go.

"See you." He said. She kissed his cheek again.

"See you."

"Let's go, Rin." Temari said.

* * *

"I miss Gaara already." Rin whined. Temari sighed.

"Just think, you'll get to see the loud blond kid again." She said.

"But what if he's mad at me?"

"Why would he be mad at you?"

"I never got to tell him that I had nothing to do with the attack."

"I'm sure someone told him. Or I'm sure he already knew that."

"What if the others are mad? I never got to talk to Sakura or the others before we left."

"Rin, stop worrying, everything will be fine."

 **…**

"State your business." One of the leaf ninja at the gate said.

"U-Um I'm here to get my cat back." Rin said. The ninja blinked before looking at his partner. "I left him with Shikamaru Naru."

"A black cat?" The ninja asked. Rin nodded. "Last we saw, it was with Naruto."

"Oh."

"Oh great." Temari sighed.

"How long will you be here?" The ninja asked.

"Only for one night." Rin answered.

"Alright." The ninja gave the two their papers back and let them in.

"Do you remember where the kid lives?" Temari asked.

"I think so but I don't think he would be home at this time of day. He's probably training. We could ask Teuchi."

"Who?"

"The man who owns Ichiraku Ramen." Rin answered but then stopped. "Actually, that might be where we can find him."

"Lead the way."

…

The two girls walked up to Ichiraku ramen and Rin saw the orange clad ninja sitting at the counter. Rin hesitated.

"Go on." Temari gave her a little push.

"T-Temari, I can't, what if-?"

"What if nothing. Go on." Temari gave her a harder push. Rin stumbled into the ramen shop. Naruto looked up from his bowl upon hearing her and glanced back.

"Oh hey Rin." He turned back to his bowl. Rin blinked and noticed Ai sitting in the chair next him with his own bowl. Ai meowed and Naruto lifted his head. "Wait a sec-" he turned to Rin again. "Rin!" Naruto said with a huge grin. Rin blinked in confusion. "You're here to get Ai back right? Shikamaru said you weren't coming for a week." He said with a frown. "It's been kinda fun having a cat."

"I would've been here later but I was just worried about Ai being with Shikamaru." Rin said as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"Oh well, I've been taking good care of him." Naruto said with a smile. "Isn't that right, little buddy?" Naruto rubbed Ai's head. Ai meowed.

"I'm sure you have." Rin said with a smile. "Thank you, Naruto, and…" Rin hesitated and looked down. Naruto tilted his head. "I'm sorry about… everything. I-I really hope you believe me when I say-"

"I know you had nothing to do with what happened." Naruto said with a soft smile. "Shikamaru and Shino vouched for you."

"Those are the last people I would think would vouch for me." Rin admitted. Naruto patted the seat beside him.

"Here, have some ramen." He ordered a bowl for her. Rin sat down.

"Thank you, Naruto."

"So um… how's Gaara?"

"He's okay." Rin said with a smile. "I don't know what you said to him but… you changed him."

"Huh?"

"He used to only be calm and relaxed with me but he's slowly opening up to other people. So.. what's new?"

"Oh well, Grandma Tsunade is the new hokage so instead of being the fifth hokage I'll be the sixth." Naruto said with a grin. "She healed Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei and Lee! Kakashi's going to be out of the hospital tomorrow. We'll be going on a mission soon! Oh, I learned a new jutsu too! I went with Pervy Sage to get Grandma Tsunade and he taught it to me."

"Should you really be calling her that?" Rin asked with a sheepish smile. "She is the Hokage after all."

"Aw she doesn't care." Naruto waved a hand dismissively.

"Oh alright." Rin's bowl was placed in front of her and she thanked Teuchi before she started eating.

"I take it you missed Ramen." Naruto said with a laugh.

"Uh-huh." Rin said with a smile. After a moment Rin giggled. Naruto blinked.

"Huh? What's funny?"

"Oh nothing, I was just thinking about how this is gunna be the longest I've been away from Gaara and I'm wondering how he's doing without me. Don't tell him I told you but he really is the cutest sometimes." Naruto blinked and looked utterly confused. "He hasn't left my side since we got back. Temari said he follows me around like a puppy. To be honest I haven't really notice because I'm so used to having him around." She said with another giggle. "I can't blame him though; he really thought I was dead."

"Are you two dating?" Naruto asked bluntly.

"H-huh!?" Rin blinked as her face went red. "W-why would you ask that?" She asked before looking away. Temari laughed and entered.

"Huh? What are _you_ doing here!?" Naruto shouted as he pointed at her.

"I came with Rin." She said before sitting beside the girl. "Rin's been Gaara's only friend since they were little. He's very protective of her."

"Temari." Rin whined.

"Don't 'Termari' me."

"What made you be friends with him?" Naruto asked. "I mean, if none of the other kids wanted to be."

"Well, some kids were picking on me and he stood up to them for me." Rin said with a smile.

 _Hey. Give it back._

"I couldn't understand why they didn't like him but I didn't care. And now that I know, I still don't. I don't care what he does or doesn't have inside him he's still the Gaara I-" she cleared her throat. "The Gaara that stood up for me."

"She was the only one who could calm him down or get through to him." Temari said. "She's the only other person besides himself that he's ever loved." Naruto noticed how Rin's cheeks went pink. She turned her head to look at him and he looked to his food.

"Wow..." Naruto said. "So... he isn't always..." Naruto made straight face and glared with his arms crossed. Rin chuckled.

"No. He's very caring and sweet… well to me. But he's getting better with other people."

"Huh..." Naruto stared down into his food. Rin giggled.

"There was this one time when we were kids..."

...

Gaara sneezed and blinked a few times with a frown.

"Looks like someone's talking about you." Mrs. Hayashi said with a smile. "Maybe it's Rin." Gaara blinked.

"Rin?"

"Of course. She's always going on and on about you. It's adorable really." Mrs. Hayashi said with a chuckle. Gaara's face went pink and he looked back down at the dishes he was drying with a smile.

* * *

"Do you _have_ to leave tomorrow? You just got here!" Naruto whined.

"We only came to get the cat." Temari said with a shrug.

"We'll come and visit again." Rin told him.

"You'd better." Naruto said with a grin. "Hey! You never got to go shopping for souvenirs!"

"Oh, well, that's okay." Rin said with a sheepish smile.

"Come on!" Naruto grabbed her hand and started to pull her along.

"I-I'll see you later, Temari!" Rin called back with a laugh. Temari sighed with a smile as she shook her head.

…

"Naruto?" Rin asked as the two walked through the village, Rin had a small shopping bag.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you could take me to see Lee?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, of course." Naruto said with a nod. "I'm sure he'll be happy to see you."

"I wanna stop to get him a flower first."

"Huh?"

"I brought him a blue iris every time I visited him last month."

"Oh." Naruto said, realizing why she had been at the hospital when he and Shikamaru found Gaara in Lee's room.

"So I thought I'd bring him one more."

"I see." Naruto said with a smile. "Come on." He started jogging to the flower shop.

…

Naruto knocked on Lee's hospital room door.

"Hey Lee!" He called before opening the door.

"Oh, Naruto. Good Afternoon." Lee said with a slight smile.

"You've got a visitor!" Naruto said with a grin.

"Huh?" Lee blinked. Rin moved out from behind Naruto and smiled. "Rin!" Lee's face lit up. Ai ran and jumped onto the bed. Lee smiled and pet the cat who curled up in his lap.

"Hi, Lee, how are you feeling?" she walked over to him and held out the iris. "I got you another flower."

"Thank you very much. What are you doing here?" he asked with a smile as he took the flower.

"I kinda left Ai here a few weeks ago." Rin admitted as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Shikamaru was taking care of him for a while before he gave him to Naruto."

"She's only here until tomorrow." Naruto said with a pout. "I tried to convince her to stay longer."

"I'm sorry, Naruto, but I told you, Gaara would start to worry." Rin said with an apologetic frown.

"Yeah, I know." Naruto said. Rin sat on the edge of Lee's bed.

"So how've you been, Lee?" she asked with a smile. Lee's smile faltered slightly but not enough for her to notice.

"I have been well." He said.

"That's good. How are Gai-sensei and the others?"

"Neji and Tenten have been training. Gai visits me three times a day."

"Well, I hope you fully recover soon." Rin said. Lee smiled.

"I will." He said. Rin giggled.

"Looks like Ai's comfortable." She said. Lee looked down at his lap to see that Ai had fallen asleep.

"Hey Rin, did you know Ai can play Shogi?" Naruto asked.

"Huh?" Rin blinked.

"Yeah, he was playing with Shikamaru the other day."

"I never knew he knew how to play." Rin said looking down at Ai.

"He sure is a smart cat. Where'd you get him anyways?"

"Gaara gave him to me for my 11th birthday." Rin said. "I don't know where he got him from but I would assume the pet store." She added with a shrug.

"Well he made a good choice." Naruto said with a nod.

"It's getting kinda late, I should get back to Temari." Rin said as she stood. "It was great seeing you again, Lee." He smiled up at her.

"It was great to see you again too." He said. He gently stroked Ai's head and the cat lifted his head with a meow.

"Time to go, Ai." Ai stretched and licked Lee's hand before jumping off the bed.

"See ya later, Lee!" Naruto said before the two left.

* * *

"Is there anyone else you wanna see?" Naruto asked.

"Um, well, if you could just tell everyone else I said hi…"

"Why don't you tell them yourself? I'm sure we could find everyone, it shouldn't take that long."

"It's not that… I'm… I'm just nervous about seeing everyone again after what happened." Rin looked down.

"I already told you, Shikamaru and Shino vouched for you."

"To… everyone?"

"Yeah! Everyone knows you're too nice to every have anything to do with something like that." Naruto said. Rin blushed and smiled.

"Thanks, Naruto." She said. He smiled back.

"I'll come by tomorrow to see you off."

"Okay. Goodnight, Naruto."

"Night, Rin!"

* * *

"We're ba-ack!" Rin blinked and looked at Kankurō who was hugging her.

"Thank god." He said pulling away.

"Kankurō?" Temari asked with an eyebrow raised.

"He's been so… depressed since you two left." Kankurō said.

"Where is he?" Rin asked with a frown.

"In his room." Kankurō jerked a thumb behind him. Rin put down her bag of souvenirs and took something out. "Oh, whacha get me?" Kankurō reached for the bag but Temari swatted at his hand.

…

Rin walked up to Gaara's closed door and knocked.

" _Go. Away._ " Rin jumped in surprise at the tone of his voice but opened the door anyways. "What did I just-?" Gaara turned his head to shoot a glare at whoever was at the door but stopped. "Rin?"

"We're back." Rin said with a smile as she walked over to him. In a second he was off his bed and pulling her into a hug. Rin giggled and hugged him back. "Kankurō said you missed me." Gaara groaned slightly in the I'm-going-to-hurt-him-for-saying-that way. "I missed you too." Rin kissed his cheek. Gaara smiled down at her. "Oh, I got you something." Gaara blinked. "Close your eyes and don't open them until I say so." She said as she pulled away from the hug.

"Can't I just hold you a bit longer?" Gaara asked with a frown. Rin's face went red and, after realizing what he'd said, Gaara's did too. He let her go and looked away.

"Close your eyes." Rin said. Gaara closed his eyes. He felt Rin go on her toes and bring her hands behind his neck. His heart rate sped up and he hope his face hadn't gotten any more red. His brow came together when he felt something cold touch his neck before Rin took her hands away. "Okay, you can open them." Gaara opened his eyes and looked down at the necklace Rin had put on him. He lifted the chain to look at the half heart pendant that hung from it. He looked to her in confusion. She smiled and pulled a chain out of her shirt. "I have the other half, see?" She took his pendant and clicked the two pieces together so there was a heart between them. Gaara blinked as he looked at the heart before looking at Rin. "Do you like it?" she asked. Gaara pulled her back into his arms, tucking her head under his chin and smiled.

"I love it."

* * *

"Hey Gaara?"

"Yeah?"

"Where did you get Ai?"

 **Flashback**

Eleven-year-old Gaara walked into the pet store. Immediately the owner started to sweat. Gaara walked up to the counter.

"Ye-Yes? H-Ho-How can I help you?" the owner squeaked.

"Do you have any black cats?" Gaara asked.

"All-All our cat- kittens are over-over there." The owner pointed to a large playpen by the window of the store. Gaara walked over and immediately all of the kittens meowed and moved away from him. They could sense something was off about him. They were all huddled in the corner, all but one. One little black kitten walked right up to him, sat there, and simply stared up at him. Gaara stared down at the kitten for about a minute before turning to the owner.

"How much for this one?"

 **Flashback end**

Gaara shrugged.

"I got him at the pet store."

* * *

 **Thought the little extra scene about Ai would be cute/funny. Kinda like one of those little funny scenes at the end of an episode. If anyone has any ideas for cute scenes let me know. ^_^  
**


	27. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 **PlaidPajamas01: I'm so glad that you like this story and that you're gunna read more of my stories. I hope you like most of them. Thank you for the reviews! ^_^**

 **I'm having trouble finding certain songs for each chapter =/ so that's partly why THIS chapter took so long to come out.**

* * *

 _I could stay awake just to hear you breathing  
Watch you smile while you are sleeping  
While you're far away and dreaming  
I could spend my life in this sweet surrender  
I could stay lost in this moment forever  
Every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure_

 _I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing - Aerosmith_

Gaara stared up at the ceiling as Rin slept with her head on his chest as the sun slowly rose above the horizon. She shifted slightly and Gaara heard a quiet clink sound. He looked down to see the heart halves of their necklaces had touched when Rin had moved. Gaara reached up, with the hand that wasn't holding Rin, and pushed the two pieces together to complete the heart with a small smile. Rin stirred slightly and moved her head to look up at Gaara and smiled.

"Morning." Gaara said. Rin closed her eyes and snuggled her head against his chest.

"I don't wanna get up." She whined, her voice getting muffled in his shirt. Gaara chuckled.

"You have to get up at some point." He said.

"Nu-uh." Rin whined.

"Mhm." Gaara hummed. Rin moved, wrapping her arm around him more and putting her face against his shoulder.

"Nooo." She whined, her breath tickling his neck. Gaara felt his heart skip a beat and swallowed. "Five more minutes, Gaara?" she mumbled.

"A-Alright, five more minutes." He said with a small smile.

"Thanks, Gaara." Rin mumbled and she kissed his jaw, not wanting to lift her head up to reach his cheek, before snuggling her face into his shirt. Gaara smiled more as he felt his cheeks warm up.

…

"Good morning." Gaara said as Kankurō and Temari walked into the kitchen later that morning. The two smiled at him, slowly getting used to Gaara being friendlier and more talkative.

"Where's Rin?" Temari asked.

"Shower." Gaara said absentmindedly. Kankurō glanced over to see Gaara holding his heart half and twisting it by the chain between his fingers. Kankurō raised an eyebrow and glanced at Temari who smiled at her youngest brother before getting out her breakfast. A few minutes later Rin walked into the room with her hair down and still slightly damp. Ai walked along beside her before jumping up onto one of the stools by the counter next to Temari. Temari rubbed the cat's head briefly. Kankurō noticed Rin's necklace half and smirked at his younger brother. Gaara noticed and blinked in confusion.

"Morning." Rin said with a smile.

"Mornin'" Kankurō said.

"Good morning, Rin." Temari said with a smile.

"Any plans today?" Rin asked her as she sat down next to Gaara.

"Well… The three of us have a meeting with the council." Temari said with a slight frown.

"Oh okay. I guess I'll see you when you're done, then." Rin said. "I guess I should help mom out some more around the house. Kenta should be coming home soon."

"That's great. It's about time he was getting back." Temari said.

"Mhm, his team is really great; this was their fourth B rank mission." Rin said with a proud smile.

"Speaking of teams…" Kankurō said. Rin bit her lip. "aren't you supposed to meet your team today?"

"Really?"

" _Rin_. I know you want to be our medic but there are no teams of four." Temari said. Rin looked down. Gaara reached over and gave her hand a slight squeeze. Rin gave him a small smile.

"You'll have to bring your team over so we can meet them later." Kankurō said.

"Okay." Rin said with a nod.

"Oh, invite them for dinner." Temari said.

"We don't even know if they're nice and you want Rin to cook for them?" Kankurō asked.

"I'd help." Temari said. Gaara looked up with his brow raised.

"Don't give me that look." Temari said with a frown. "Rin's been giving me lessons." Rin nodded.

"Mhm. She's getting better."

"Fine, invite them for dinner." Kankurō said with a sigh.

"Well, I guess I'd better go meet them…" Rin said as she got up. "I'll see you guys later." Rin leaned over and kissed Gaara's cheek which made him smile.

"How come I never get a kiss?" Kankurō whined playfully. Rin rolled her eyes while Gaara frowned at his older brother.

"I don't feel like wearing purple lipstick." Rin said.

"It's not make up, it's war paint." Kankurō hissed with a frown. Gaara smirked in amusement.

"See you later." He said before she left. Temari couldn't hold back her smile.

"Well the faster we meet the council the faster we'll be able to leave." Kankurō said with a sigh.

* * *

Rin knocked on the door of one of the academy classrooms before poking her head in. She looked in just in time to see a brown haired boy, who was doing a handstand on one of the desks, fall back onto the floor. A black haired boy sitting at the desk shook his head as the brown haired boy clutched at his head as he rolled from side to side in pain.

"Oh um, excuse me." The two looked over. The brown haired boy popped up from the ground.

"Hi!" He said with a big grin. "Are you our new team mate? Baki said she had blue hair and you're hair is _pret-ty_ blue!"

"Um, y-yeah." Rin smiled slightly. The boy held out his hand.

"Kyo Akiyama!"

"Uh, Rin Hayashi."

"Nice to meet cha." He turned to look back at the other boy. "Oi, say hi!" The other boy didn't move but green eyes slowly looked over at Rin. "Don't mind him," Kyo said with a chuckle as he turned back to her. "That's Riku Kuroki. He may seem like a _total grouch_ ," Kyo spoke louder "but you'll get used to him."

"So… um… where's our team leader?" Rin asked.

"Ah, Sachiko Sensei just went to report to the council about our last mission." Kyo said.

"Meow!" Kyo blinked and looked behind Rin to see Ai walk into the room.

"Oh, this is Ai." Rin said with a smile. Ai jumped up onto the desk Riku was sitting at and licked his paw.

"Sachiko Sensei said you can summon cats." Kyo said.

"Yeah." Rin said with a nod. "But Ai's just a normal cat." Ai looked over at her. "Well… mostly." She added with a chuckle.

"That's cool." Kyo said as Ai looked at Riku who was simply staring back at the cat. "Well… anyway…-"

"Oh." Rin said.

"Hm?"

"My… um my friends wanted to know if you two wanted to come over for dinner so they could meet you. I-If you want." Rin added.

"That sounds awesome, sure!" Kyo said.

"What about you, Riku-kun?" Rin asked. Riku didn't take his eyes off Ai.

"He'll be there." Kyo said waving a hand dismissively. "So you're a medical ninja right?"

"Uh, yeah."

"That's pretty awesome, I'm uh heh I'm a bit of a klutz."

"How did you know I'm a medical ninja?"

"Oh sorry, Sachiko gave us your file the other day but I guess you don't know much about us, huh?" Kyo asked. Rin shook her head. "Alright then, allow me to explain." He clapped his hands together. "I," he put a hand on his chest. "being the awesome badass ninja that I am, fight with this!" he took out a two foot long dark metal piece that unfolded three times to become a double bladed scythe. "Pretty cool, huh?" Kyo asked with a smirk. Rin nodded with wide eyes.

"Yeah."

"Oh my Chakra nature is Earth. And Riku uses Duel Blades among other weapons and is a Fire Nature."

"Duel Blades?" Rin asked. Kyo nodded and put away his scythe before he walked over to Riku.

"Yo-" He was cut off as Riku held up a metal circle with a handle in the middle. He moved his wrist and the curved blade unfolded. Kyo turned back to Rin. "I still think my weapon's cooler." He said.

"Mine aren't as cool." Rin said.

"Sure they are, Tekagi-shuko are cool, plus they make you even more of a cat, Tiger."

"Huh?"

"I mean you already summon cats, you have a pet cat and Tiger Hook Hands as your weapons." He said.

"Oh…" Rin tilted her head. "I never thought about that." Kyo chuckled. There was a poof sound behind Rin and she turned to see a tall woman. She had golden eyes and long pale pink hair that was in a braid that was down to her waist with a right parted side-bang. She had on a dark green tank top with a black fishnet t-shirt over it, matching dark green baggy pants that went down just below her knees and black sandals. She had a black belt with pouches and a holster for chained Nunchucks. She looked from Kyo and Rin to Riku and back, her black earrings swinging.

"Hey. I'm Sachiko Suzuki." She gave Rin a big smile. Rin blinked a few times before bowing politely.

"Rin Hayashi." She said.

"We'll I see you've meet Kyo and Riku." Sachiko said.

"O-oh, Sachiko Sensei, I was wondering if you'd like to come over for dinner tonight?" Rin asked.

"Yeah, Riku and I are goin'." Kyo said with a grin.

"I'd love to." Sachiko said with a smile. "We'll train tomorrow; I'm not feeling up to it."

"You feelin' alright sensei?" Kyo asked with a frown.

"Yeah. Just a bit tired." She said scratching the back of her head with a sheepish smile. "So is that your cat?" Sachiko asked as she looked over at Ai who was having a staring contest with Riku.

"Mhm. His name is Ai; my friend got him for me for my birthday a few years ago." Rin said with a smile.

"Love." Sachiko said quietly with a smile.

"So, Rin, where's your house?" Kyo asked. "So we know where to go later."

"Oh well we're having dinner at my friends' place … um well… the Kazekage mansion." She said quietly. Kyo blinked in surprise.

"The Kazekage mansion? Your friends are the Fourth Kazekage's kids?"

"Mhm." Rin nodded.

"The sister was in our class." Kyo said. Rin blinked.

"You guys are 15?" she asked.

"Riku's 15 but I'm gunna be 15 in a few months." Kyo said.

"Yep, you're the youngest on the team." Sachiko said as she ruffled Rin's hair slightly. Rin blushed slightly. Kyo chuckled.

* * *

"I'm back!" Rin called.

"Hey Rin." Temari greeted as Rin walked into the kitchen. They heard a door open and Gaara came into the kitchen from the hall a moment later.

"Welcome back." He said with a small smile when he saw Rin.

"Did you invite your new team?" Temari asked.

"Mhm." Rin hummed with a nod.

"What are they like?" Temari asked with a smile.

"Well, you might know them cause they were in your class." Rin said. Both Gaara and Temari blinked.

"They were in _my_ class?" Temari asked.

"How old are they?" Gaara asked with a slight frown.

"Well Riku's 15 and Kyo's going to be turning 15 in a few months." Rin said.

"They're both boys?" Gaara asked as his eyes widened slightly.

"Mhm. Kyo really nice. Riku's very quiet; he didn't say a word the entire time and had a staring contest with Ai." The cat meow upon his mention and rubbed against Gaara's leg.

"What about your sensei?" Temari asked.

"She's nice too and she's really pretty."

"That's nice. Guess we'd better start cooking then, huh?" Rin nodded with a smile before she went to grab her apron. Gaara sat down at the kitchen isle and Ai jumped up into the chair next to him. Ai rubbed against his arm and Gaara pet his head absentmindedly.

* * *

The door bell rang. Gaara's head shot up and he blinked; he had gotten lost in his thoughts and hadn't noticed the girls had finished cooking.

"I'll get it!" Rin called before rushing to the door. Gaara stared at the entrance to the hall she'd gone down as he heard voices.

"So do you live here with them or just hang out a lot?" A male voice asked.

"Well, I stay over a lot." Rin answered. "Temari's like my big sister, she doesn't mind if I borrow her shampoo." Rin said as she walked back into the kitchen. Gaara frowned slightly at the two boys who came in behind her.

"Yo, Temari!" The brown haired boy said with a wave.

"Oh, I remember you two." Temari said with a smile. "Yeah, you were the one who always tripped over your own feet every morning." She added with a smirk as she pointed at Kyo.

"Eh-! H-Hey, I'm not that clumsy… anymore..." he added quietly. Sachiko, who stood behind the two boys, burst out laughing. " _Sachiko sensei_." Kyo whined. Rin giggled.

"Oh this is my youngest brother, Gaara." Temari gestured to him.

"My best friend!" Rin said as she put an arm around his shoulders. Gaara smiled slightly up at her before looking back at the three.

"Hello." He said politely.

"Hi, my name's Kyo." Kyo held out his hand to Gaara who blinked at it in surprise. Rin nudged him and he took Kyo's hand hesitantly and they shook. Ai meowed as he jumped down from the chair and walked up to Riku.

"Ai, don't bother Riku." Rin said. Riku cleared his throat.

"It's fine." He said. Rin blinked; his voice was a lot deeper than she thought it would be, compared to Kyo's.

"Well, I'll go get Kankurō." Temari said. "Take a seat."

"Rin-chan, sit next to me, yeah?" Kyo asked with a grin.

"Sure." Rin said with a smile. "I'm sitting next to Gaara." She said pointing to the seat beside him. Kyo nodded and sat in the chair next to hers. Riku and Sachiko sat down on the other side, Riku across from where Rin would sit and Sachiko across from Kyo. Ai jumped up and laid on Riku's lap making the boy tense and sit up straight like a statue. Kyo snickered making Rin look back. "Ai." She called. The cat lifted his head then jumped off. "Sorry about him." Rin said as she brought over the food. Riku shook his head as if to say 'it's fine' again as Temari and Kankurō walked in.

"Hey." Kankurō greeted as he sat down on the end between Kyo and Sachiko. "So you're Rin's new team, huh?"

"Mhm." Kyo nodded. "My name's Kyo and that's Riku. He doesn't talk much." He added with a shrug. Riku glanced over and nodded a greeting. "And this is Sachiko sensei." Sachiko smiled at Kankurō who immediately smiled back with a light pink across his cheeks.

"Hi." He said. Temari helped Rin put out the food before she sat down on the opposite end from Kankurō.

…

"So, Rin, you went to the chunin exams, right?" Sachiko asked.

"Well I didn't compete but I went with them." Rin said as she looked around at the Sand sibs.

"These two have never been to the Leaf." Sachiko said looking at the two boys.

"Yeah, what's it like?" Kyo asked. "I'm so used to this heat; I'd probably feel weird since it's colder there, right?"

"It's much colder there but that's only because it's so hot here. This is normal for us but that's normal for everyone else." Rin said with a shrug.

"Their ninja were so annoying." Kankurō said.

"You're only saying that because the first people we met were the loud blond and his team." Temari said.

"Naruto wasn't that annoying." Rin said with a frown.

"What about the green jumpsuit guy?" Kankurō asked.

"Lee was very sweet." Rin said. She noticed Gaara frowning at his lap and reached over to take his hand. He glanced at her and forced a small smile.

"Ai seemed to get along with Kiba's dog." Temari said.

"Naruto told me that Ai played Shoji with Shikamaru while he was there." Rin said. Temari looked annoyed upon mention of Shikamaru.

"Your cat can play Shoji?" Kyo asked with wide eyes. Rin nodded.

"Mhm." She hummed and Ai meowed up at him from between the two. Kyo reached down to pet the cat.

"So, what happened to your other teammate?" Kankurō asked. Temari gave him a look from across the table. Kyo noticed and blinked.

"Oh, she didn't die or anything." He clarified. "Asuka-chan's family just had to move to a new village so she went with them." Kyo said.

"Ah." Kankurō said with a nod.

* * *

Gaara sat on his bed looking down at his necklace with a smile as he waited for Rin to change in the bathroom. After a few minutes she came in wearing a tank top and short shorts. She threw her clothes into the hamper before climbing onto the bed.

"Whacha thinking about?" she asked as she and Gaara got under the covers.

"Nothing…" Gaara said as he put an arm around Rin as she put her head on his chest.

"I can tell something's up, I know my Gaara-bear." Rin said as she looked up at him. Gaara smiled slightly as he looked down at her.

"It's nothing… don't worry about it." Gaara said. Rin began to pout which made Gaara chuckle.

"Tell me please? I won't be able to sleep." She said.

"I was just thinking about… your new team."

"You don't like them?" Rin asked with a frown.

"It's not that…"

"Is it because they're guys?" Rin asked. Gaara swallowed, she really did know her Gaara-bear.

"I just… I wish you could be on my team."

"Me too." Rin said sadly. "But we still see each other every day. And we'll always be friends." Rin said with a smile. "Forever and Always."

"Forever and Always." Gaara said with a nod. Rin smiled and kissed his forehead and snuggled her head against his chest. Gaara stroked her hair gently with a smile.

* * *

 **The next thing I have written is when Gaara and the sand sibs next show up in the show. It's about 17 pages in google docs, round 6,000 words. I don't have any ideas for things between that and this. If anyone has any ideas let me know or the next chapter will be show events.**


	28. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 **DaYaNa1997: I** ** _swear_** **this isn't a rant …. How many times has Rin cried? Twice. (NOT counting when she was a little kid) 1: In class when her stuffed cat was taken (yes that's whimpy) 2: After the whole Naruto/Gaara Fight and Gaara was hurt (justified). So she's not just there and crying.**

 **Also there have been no situations to show if she's weak or not. I've** ** _just_** **introduced her team. Plus she's a medical ninja more so than a normal combat ninja. Yes I know that medical ninjas need to know how to fight but she does know how to fight. It's just that since this isn't an action story I haven't shown much action.**

 **The Akatsuki stuff doesn't happen for another three years. And since he loves her he's always going to be concerned about her anyway.**

 **So that wasn't a rant I was just responding to a review that I didn't agree with.**

 **Carri007: I don't think they're going to actually admit they love each other for a while. The "Forever and Always" is kinda their way of saying I love you to each other.**

 **PAVeY14: Lol yeah.**

 **Thank you every who has reviewed, followed and favorite. I'm just gunna skip to show events because I wanted to post a chapter since I haven't in a while.**

* * *

"What's going on?" Rin asked as she saw Temari rushing around her room, packing things.

"The council received word from the fifth Hokage. They've requested our help." Temari said as she zipped up her bag.

"You guys are going to the Leaf?" Rin said.

"The council thinks they should send two teams, they spoke to Baki and Sachiko earlier." Kankurō said as he walked past her down the hall.

"My team's going too?" Rin asked as her face lit up. Gaara stepped out of his room and grinned as he saw her smiling. "I already have my overnight bag for here so I'll help Gaara pack." She said.

"I'm already packed." Gaara said.

"Then I have a better idea." Rin said with a grin. Gaara blinked.

…

"Are you two ready yet, we have to leave soon." Temari said.

"Just a second!" Rin called from Gaara's room.

"What are you two doing?" Kyo asked. He and Riku were waiting with the two older sand sibs each with a backpack. "Hurry up!" Kyo whined.

"Hold your horses, we're done." Rin said as she and Gaara came out. Gaara had switched his previous black overalls to a reddish-brownish one with longer sleeves and an upright collar. He retained the white cloth, but had fishnet on his wrists and ankles. Rin had changed her outfit colours to match Gaara's, keeping her fishnet and pants the same but changing the sleeves she had previously had for fingerless gloves that went a bit below her elbows. Her hitai-ate stayed around her waist with a black band.

"You took so long to change your outfits?" Kankurō asked.

"You changed your makeup." Rin said as she crossed her arms.

" _Warpaint_." Kankurō growled as Kyo snickered.

"And Temari changed hers too." Rin pointed out.

"Yeah but she didn't wait until last minute." Kankurō said. Rin pouted until Kyo ruffled her hair.

"Hey!" she said with a laugh. Gaara frowned slightly.

* * *

Gaara and Rin neared the field were Lee was fighting Kimimaro. They saw Lee kick him in the chest but bones absorb the impact.

"Now die!" Kimimaro shouted as he attacked.

"Lee." Rin gasped.

…

Temari and Riku approached Shikamaru who was had Tayuya under his shadow possession jutsu on a tree branch. She was slowly overpowering him.

"Just a little bit further, you piece of garbage." Tayuya said. Shikamaru's jutsu soon retreated and she chuckled. "You're mine!"

…

Kankuro and Kyo neared Kiba who was sitting against a tree with Akamaru. Ukon had found the two and was ready to strike with a kunai.

"You're staring death in the face, shouldn't you be screaming for mercy or something?" Ukon asked. "Huh?!" Kiba chuckled. "You're gunna die kid, wipe that grin off your face!"

…

Tayuya was blow away suddenly as Ukon's kunai hit Crow.

"What the hell?!" Ukon looked up.

…

Gaara extended his arm and sand shot out to block the attack and send Lee and Kimimaro flying back in opposite directions.

…

Tayuya was holding onto a tree as the wind blew.

"Who are you?!" she shouted. Temari landed on the tree branch in front of Shikamaru as Riku stayed back on a branch above them.

…

Kankuro and Kyo stepped out from behind a tree.

"What do you know, looks like we're on the same side." Kiba said.

…

The sand caught Lee and lowered him to the ground safely in front of the three.

"Who are you?" Kimimaro asked.

"Allies of the Leaf Village." Rin said.

"We're Shinobi of the Sand." Gaara said.

"Huh?" Lee look up at the two. Gaara walked forward to stand in front of Lee. "He's Gaara of the Sand."

"Gaara, is that what they call you?" Kimimaro asked. "Digital shrapnel!" he sent pieces of bone from his fingertips at them. Gaara's sand came up and blocked them.

"Impulsive aren't you?" Gaara asked. He looked back at Lee briefly. "You're different… when you fought against me you had much more agility and sharpness." Lee stood.

"I figured you would say that. I am not the kind of person who holds a grudge. Even so, because of you I've had a fairly tough time with it." Lee said.

"Really.." Gaara's sand returned to the gourd.

"Anyway, why have you come here?" Lee asked. Gaara looked back at him.

"I owe the Leaf." He said. "I owe the Leaf a great debt."

* * *

The wind had stopped and Tayuya stood a few branches away from Temari and Shikamaru.

"I had heard something about how our villages had finally made up with you traitors." Shikamaru said. "But I didn't expect you to change sides so quickly."

"It's not like we just attacked the Leaf village for kicks, ya know." Temari said. "We were following orders. That's all," she looked back at him. "Just like we're doing on this mission. By the way, you seem a lot dumber than the last time our paths crossed." Shikamaru looked surprised then glared. "So are you gunna give up again this time? Go ahead, I'll take care of this for you."

"Well I'm sorry to disappoint you but I'm not about to give up. And besides, a real man doesn't let a woman do his fighting for him." Shikamaru said.

"Huh, still being all macho with the man and woman stuff? You talk tough but I know it's just an act, idiot." Temari said as she walked forward and opened her fan in front of her. Riku jumped down to land where she was. Shikamaru's eyes widened and Riku looked back at him with a straight face. Shikamaru saw the sand village band on his left arm and relaxed.

"So this time you're on the Leaf's side huh?" Tayuya asked. "You guys are all over the place, aren't you?" she said before blowing into her flute.

"The sound of the flute summons her genjutsu." Shikamaru told the two.

"I got it." Temari said as Riku nodded. "Cyclone scythe jutsu!" Temari swung her fan and the wind sliced through trees and finally Tayuya's flute before making her jump back.

* * *

"I got this, kid." Kankurō said. Kyo frowned.

"I'm older than you." He said. Kyo crossed his arms as Kankurō attacked Ukon with Crow. Kiba looked up at Kyo.

"So you fight with puppets?" Ukon asked.

"Hey wait a second, when you showed up here weren't you in a group of three people?" Kiba asked. "And who are you?" he looked at Kyo.

"The other two went on ahead with another team cause you guys couldn't hack it." Kankurō said.

"My team." Kyo said with a grin.

"Listen, moron, these enemies aren't exactly light weights." Kiba said. "Behind you!" The three turned to see Sakon jumping out to attack. Kyo quickly made hand signs and an earth wall came up to block him. He punched through it and grabbed Kankurō's face. Kiba struggled to get up. "No use, can't move." He growled out.

"What is this guy?" Kankurō asked.

"He's all yours Sakon." Ukon said. "Finish him."

"Be careful, he's about to try and enter your body and combine with it!" Kiba warned.

"What the hell?!" Kyo shouted. "Haven't you heard of personal space buddy?!"

"It's too late." Sakon said as he gripped Kankurō's face making it crack. "Eh- I can't believe it." Kankurō grabbed his arm.

"What's the matter, Sakon?" Ukon asked. Kankurō's face cracked more before it started dissolving into sand.

"I guess that jutsu of yours, doesn't really work on puppets, does it?" Kankurō asked as he came out of the wrappings on the puppet's back. "Fair warning, we sand ninja aren't pushovers like our friends from the Leaf. Oh and standing as close as you are to my friend The Black Ant…?" The puppet's arms came out with razors on the inside. "Big mistake." It hugged Sakon cutting him up. It let him go and he fell to the ground. Kankuro sent The Black Ant after Ukon who dodged. Sakon reverted back to his original form as Ukon transformed and ran to his brother. The two combined.

"That hurt. You take over brother, let me rest in this body a little bit first." Sakon said.

"You're so pathetic Sakon!"

"Just who are these freaks?" Kankurō asked.

"This is there most dangerous ability." Kiba said.

"I can't believe you let that punk catch you off guard." Ukon said. "Be sure, I won't. His puny speed and power are nothing special. It'll take more than his toy to stop me." he chuckled and patted his stomach. "I healed my stomach wound. I don't have much chakra left but it should be more than enough to vanquish these scrawny armatures. Hm… I'm not usually the one who turns into the main body, it's hard to move like this."

"It's like they're over there just mocking us."

"This isn't the kind of enemy you can beat head to head. Back down and we'll regroup." Kiba said.

"I can't back down when they show me no respect." Kankurō said.

"They're our enemy; I don't think they're supposed to respect us." Kyo said.

"Shut up." Kankurō snapped before sending Crow at them.

"Not quite." Ukon said as he dodged. The puppet shot out kunai at them. It shot its arm at him which then shot out needles. He back flipped away. Kyo quickly made hand signs and a small square of earth came up and tripped Ukon backwards. Behind him The Black Ant opened its chest and he fell back into it. The puppet closed just as quickly as it had opened.

"My Black Ant puppet isn't designed to be used on offence, its usual function is trapping people." Kankurō said. "But when The Black Ant is paired with The Crow it makes a deadly attack combination."

"Hey punk! Let me outta here! Can you hear me?!" Ukon screamed. Crow shook and its arms detached, Black and landed on the ground as blades came out of the arms and from Crow's head.

"And now, let's have a puppet show!" Kankurō said.

"Hey let me out! Let me out or I'll kill you!"

"Secret Black Move: Iron Maiden!" Kankurō shouted. The arms and head all went into the slots on The Black Ant making Ukon scream. "Heh, show's over."

"Guess those _dolls_ are pretty lethal."Kyo said.

"For the millionth time they're not dolls!" Kankurō snapped.

* * *

"She must be hiding around here." Shikamaru said as he looked around.

"Or she gave up." Temari said.

"Not her, she'd never run away." Shikamaru said. Temari looked behind her at him.

"Since we're new to this fight maybe it'd be a good idea for you to explain the situation to us." Temari said. "Give us an analysis of her skills and battle style."

"Well, first off, her flute casts genjutsu, she uses it to ensnare her opponents and when they can't move she delivers a lethal attack. She's a typical long range genjutsu style shinobi. Mostly likely as soon as she saw your jutsu she realized it could counteract her own, that's why she retreated. Besides, it's three against one now. I'll doubt she'll show herself again until she's able to cast her genjutsu."

"So it's sound." Temari said.

"That's right." Shikamaru said. He pulled at the knuckle of his finger. "If you really want my honest assessment, you're at an overwhelming disadvantage here. Listen sooner or later she's gunna get us cornered and that'll be that. I think we should withdrawn until we-"

"Excuse me, did I ask for your opinion?" Temari asked as she cut him off. Riku smirked.

"Wha-?"

"I told you explain the situation to us, that's all. You have no idea," she bit her thumb what kind of powers I have. If she thinks she can hide from me," she brought her fan in front of her. "but stay close enough so the sound of her flute can still reach me," she drew the blood on her fan with her thumb. "She's mistaken! Alright!" She moved her fan behind her before swinging it in front of her. "Summoning blade dance!" she shouted as the wind summoned a one-eyed sickle-holding weasel that sliced up all the trees around them. Temari set her fan top down and leaned on it. "How was that? It's finished." Temari turned around to face Shikamaru. "Pretty good huh?" she asked with a smirk. "Guess I didn't need you after all, huh, Riku." She said turning to the boy. Riku only smirked, closing his eyes briefly.

"So, who exactly are you?" Shikamaru asked.

"This is Riku Kuroki." Temari said. "He's a member of Rin's team." Riku nodded in greeting.

"She finally got her own team." Shikamaru said. "Good for her."

* * *

Lee got into his fighting stand with his arm up. Gaara looked over at him and noticed the blood dropping from Lee's wrappings.

"I'll handle this." Gaara said. Lee blinked and looked at him.

"No, please, just back me up." He said before running forward.

"Lee!" Rin called after him. Gaara's sand shot out and wrapped around his ankle, Lee fell forward and fell into the sand that softened the fall.

"I got sand in my mouth!" Lee shouted into the sand.

"Do you have to be so rough?" Rin asked with a grimace. Lee turned to shout back at Gaara.

"Will you please let go of me?!" Lee suddenly winced in pain. Gaara walked past him.

"You're not doing anything in your present state." He said. "I've got this." Rin moved forward to Lee and crouched beside him.

"Let Gaara take care of this; you're hurt." Rin said putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Do not let your guard down, he uses bones to attack! He can launch them like you saw before, and forces them to protrude from his body! He is able to control them all at will!" Lee shouted. Rin helped him stand.

"You're Gaara of the Desert. You wield sand, hence the name." Kimimaro said as Gaara's sand hovered out of the gourd. The bones retracted back into Kimimaro's skin as he examined Gaara. His eyes drifted to Rin as he assessed her. He extended his fingers and bones started to protrude from the fingertips. Gaara's sand shot out at him. Kimimaro jumped out of the way. "Digital Shrapnel!" he shouted as he shot the bones at Gaara. Once again Gaara's sand blocked them as another part of sand made Kimimaro have to back flip to dodge the sand as he kept shooting bone bits. "Gaara of the Desert, rather a foolish nickname isn't it? You're nothing without that sand of yours." The sand shot out at him again and Kimimaro continued to dodge and attack.

"Sand shower." Gaara said. Kimimaro looked up to see sand above him.

"What a surprise." He said then suddenly let out a grunt of surprise and looked down to see sand holding his ankles.

"But as long as I have it," Gaara said as he extended his arm. "I can do anything. The only fool here is you. If I need more sand I can easily use the earth we're standing on to make more." The sand soon surrounded Kimimaro.

"You did it!" Lee said.

"Almost." Gaara said before he closed his fist and the sand closed around Kimimaro. Gaara lowered his arm. "When I look at this guy, it reminds me of him."

"Huh?" Lee turned to look at him.

"Uchiha. His eyes. Sasuke had the same eyes this guy does."

"The same eyes?" Lee asked. Suddenly Kimimaro's hand, covered in black markings, broke out of the sand. He managed to climb out of the sand. "Im-Impossible."

"What's with this guy?" Rin asked in a small voice as she had a hand against Lee's wounds, her hand glowing green.

"That sure was a lot of pressure. If I hadn't grown a membrane of bone underneath my skin I would've been crushed beyond recognition."

"More bones, he's a monster, a freak." Gaara said.

"Well he certainly is a nuisance." Lee said.

"I underestimated you, but that's the last time I'll get caught in your sand." Kimimaro said. Gaara spread his feet before making quick hand signs. A wave of sand began rising, growing bigger and bigger, creating a strong wind.

"Sand Tsunami!" There was so much sand Kimimaro couldn't dodge or attack. He was quickly swept away into the trees which were all soon halfway submerged with sand.

"You- You did it." Lee said.

"No, not yet." Gaara said. He put one knee down and put his hands into the sand in front of them. "Giant Sand Burial!" The ground shook almost sending Rin and Lee to the ground. "Why won't he give up?" Gaara asked.

"What?"

"You're telling me he's still alive?" Rin asked as she looked out over the new mini desert Gaara had created. Suddenly a tentacle like tail came out of the sand.

"Wait a minute, what is that?" Lee asked.

"That can't be him, can it?" Rin asked. Gaara lifted his hands and made the sand swirl around Kimimao's new form. Kimimaro managed to step one foot out.

"Sand Coffin!" Gaara shouted as he closed both his fists. The sand stopped swirling and hardened. Kimimaro stepped forward, breaking out of the sand, and ran out at them. His eyes were yellow, his skin a weird maroon and large bones protruded from it as well as a tail. Gaara punched the air, closing his fist, sending sand at Kimimaro but he dodged. Gaara continued to shoot sand at him but he dodge every time. Gaara put his fist on the ground and lifted up a large sand wall to block him. Kimimaro came through the sand and ran into Gaara sending him flying.

"Gaara!" Rin called as he landed further back.

"Is the best you can do with your ultimate defense?" Kimimaro asked. "Is that all? I'm very disappointed." Gaara looked back and his face was cracking off. "I see, an armor like shell of sand."

"He is not your only opponent!" Lee shouted as he was suddenly behind Kimimaro. "I am here as well!" Lee went for a kick but Kimimaro's tail came up. Gaara's eyes widened and he sent his sand to block it but the sand went through the sand and sent Lee flying.

"Lee!" Rin ran and caught him sending the two to the ground. "Lee are you alright?" The two sat up and Rin immediately started to try and heal him, her hands glowing green again.

"I'm tired of that sand." Kimimaro said. "Very well, Gaara, you first."

"How about something else?" Rin muttered as she took her hands away from Lee to make hand signs as she took a few steps away from him.

" _Rin_." Gaara said without turning to look at her. Rin stopped and blinked.

"What good am I if I can't do anything?" she muttered.

"Gaara can handle this." Lee said to her.

"I can help too…" she said. Kimimaro pulled out his spine to use as a weapon.

"Clematis Dance: First the vine." He swung it, with a yell, at Gaara who made a sand wall as it wrapped around him. "Then the flower. It's always my strongest." A large spike came out of Kimimaro's other hand until it consumed his entire hand and was almost s big as himself. "It'll blow right through you, defenses and all." Kimimaro coughed up a bit of blood. Sand came up and covered the spine in front of Gaara.

"Ultimate Defense: Shukaku Shield!" Gaara shouted as his sand form a large sand Shukaku with a hat. Kimimaro sunk the spike into the sand. The spike slowly began to crack before it revealed Kimimaro's arm.

"It's so strong."

"I took that hardest minerals in the soil I gathered and then I fused it with the sand using my chakra." Gaara said. "Tell me, that's a very unusual jutsu, it's a kekkei genkai right?"

"It belonged to the Keguya, but now it belongs to me and me alone."

"You're the last of your clan, eh? Then your clan perishes today." Gaara said.

"That might very well be the case my body has weakened, it may not last much longer. However, I will still live on. Because I am not alone."

"You're not alone, you say?"

"That's right. My existence has been consumed into Orochimaru's ambition. That means that part of me will survive in Orochimaru's heart, forever."

"Orochimaru's brainwashed you well." Gaara said as he made a hand sign. "You sad little pawn." Kimimaro's feet sunk into the ground as Gaara's Shukaku Shield dispersed into a fist and grabbed the spine and the sand around Gaara pushed back the spine around him. Quick sand formed around Kimimaro and he struggled to pull himself up.

"It is amazing he still has chakra!" Lee said.

"I underestimated him." Kimimaro said.

"I will bury you 200 meters below the surface of the earth, under pressure so great you won't be able to move a finger, imprisoned there until the end of time." Soon Kimimaro was no longer visible and the sand stopped moving.

"You did it! This time I am certain!" Lee said. Gaara scanned the sand in front of him.

"Dance!" Gaara's eyes widened. "Bracken Dance!" Bone spikes came up out of the sand in front of Gaara before heading towards Lee and Rin.

"Lee!" Rin gasped as he was closer to the spikes than she was. Suddenly the sand beneath the two them lifted up, as did the sand Gaara was standing on, as the spikes grew higher and higher, so there did the three sections of floating sand.

"Thank you, Gaara." Lee said. "You saved me again. These powers of yours are truly remarkable."

"Not really. I'm merely able to make the sand do my bidding. It's second nature to me now." Gaara said. "A tenacious opponent but this time it's over. We won't be seeing him again in this life."

"Yes, good." Lee said.

"Gaara," Rin whined. "You didn't let me help at all." He looked over at her then looked down.

"I didn't want you to get hurt…" he said. Lee smiled. Gaara suddenly gasped and put his hand down to steady himself. "My strength is gone. I must descend." He said. Suddenly Lee and Rin's eyes widened.

"Gaara!"

"I am not some pawn!" Kimimaro shouted as he was suddenly behind Gaara. "He is the one, the only one who ever gave my life meaning!" He drew back his arm which had another spike around it. "But how could the likes of you ever understand that!" The spike stopped inches away from Gaara's face.

"He is dead." Lee said. Blood dripped from Kimimaro's mouth.

"G-Gaara, are you okay?" Rin jumped over to his platform and pulled him away from the spike. He looked up at her with wide eyes and slowly nodded. Rin let out a breath of relief.

* * *

 **I had this longer before but I wanted to get this out. Towards the beginning it jumped around a bit between the three scenes so sorry if that was weird to read.**


	29. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its plot or characters. I own any OC, my plot, and anything else you don't recognize unless otherwise stated.**

 **A/N: I thought I posted this forever ago. I'm really sorry. Thank you everyone who reviews, I'm so glad to know people enjoy this story ^_^**

* * *

 _I can't help but love you_

 _Even though I try not to_

 _I can't help but want you_

 _I know that I'd die without you_

 _War of Hearts – Ruelle_

* * *

Gaara and Lee sat against two trees. Rin was healing Lee, her hands glowing green over his injuries.

"I dropped my med kit when we first came in." she said as she stood. "I'll be right back; don't move, either of you." The two nodded and Rin ran off.

"It was sheer luck," Gaara said once she was gone. "I should've been killed."

"No, it was not meant to be." Lee said. "My sensei has often said to me. 'A good ninja always makes his own luck'."

"The meddlesome mother hen." Gaara said as he remembered Gai.

"Gai sensei is nothing of the sort!" Lee said. "Yes he stepped in, but only that once, and only because I was not yet strong enough. I am very grateful to you for having saved my life, but I warn you I will not abide anyone speaking ill of my sensei!"

"So you're another one, eh?"

"Hm?"

"You love someone in your life whom you honor and revere so much that every hurt inflicted on them is inflicted on you as well. And the closer they are to you, the greater the pain. To feel so strongly for someone you would fight for them… and die for them. You and Naruto Uzumaki have that in common." Lee blinked.

"What about you?" Lee asked. Gaara looked at him. "Surely… you would fight for Rin." He said.

"I would die for her." Gaara said without missing a beat."...Hypothetically, what if this person you honor and would even die for is not a virtuous person?" he asked as he thought about the man they'd fought.

"Impossible! Such a person would be unworthy of honor or respect." Lee said.

"No, perhaps the companionship of even an evil person is preferable to loneliness." Gaara said as he looked out into the multitude of bones ahead of them.

"I'm back." Rin said as she ran over with a small medic bag. She blinked when she saw the two just looking at her. "Why are you guys looking at me like that?" she asked as she tilted her head. Gaara looked forward but Lee smiled.

…

Medical teams soon arrived to the scenes and medical attention was administered where needed before they brought everyone back to the village hospital. Rin and Gaara stayed with Lee, Kyo stayed with Kiba and Akamaru, and Temari and Riku went with Shikamaru to wait outside of Chouji's room. After a few minutes Kyo and Riku met up with Rin and Gaara where Rin introduced them to Lee.

"Who else is hurt?" Rin asked the nurse that came in to check on Lee.

"Chouji Akimichi and Neji Hyuga were both in critical condition." The nurse said with a frown. "But Lady Tsunade has done a lot for them."

"Naruto's been admitted too, hasn't he?" Rin asked.

"Kakashi brought him in about an hour ago." The nurse said with a nod. "He's resting though, so only a short visit."

"Okay, are you coming Gaara?" Rin asked as she turned to him. He hesitated.

"You go on ahead." Gaara said.

"I wanna meet him." Kyo said and Riku nodded.

"Okay, we'll see you back at the Inn, Gaara." Rin said before the three left.

…

As the three were walking to Naruto's room they saw Lady Tsunade, Sakura and Shikamaru walking their way.

"Oh, Rin." Sakura said with a smile when she saw her. "I heard that the Sand village had sent someone, I didn't know it was your team."

"Well my team and Gaara's." Rin said with a smile. "Oh, Sakura, Shikamaru these are my teammates Kyo and Riku." Sakura smiled at the two.

"We've met." Shikamaru said while looking at Riku. The three turned to Lady Tsunade and bowed respectfully.

"Lady Hokage." They said.

"You're Rin Hayashi." Lady Tsunade said with a nod.

"Yes, ma'am." Rin said.

"Are you here to see Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Naruto needs his rest." Lady Tsunade said. Rin frowned slightly.

"W-we won't visit long. I just want to check in on him." She said.

"Very well." Lady Tsunade said with a smile before she walked past them.

"I thought you didn't have a team." Sakura said.

"She didn't," Kyo said. "Our other teammate had to move so Rin joined us." He put his arm around her shoulders. "It's a special case since we weren't even in the same class."

"How old are you then?" Sakura asked.

"I'm gunna be 15 and Riku's already 15."

"Wow." Sakura said.

"Yep, we gotta watch out for the squirt." Kyo ruffled Rin's hair.

"Hey." Rin whined as she fixed it. "I'm not the clumsy one." She pointed out. Riku smirked.

"I'm sure Naruto will be happy to meet your team." Shikamaru said. "See ya later, Rin." Shikamaru said as he walked past them.

"Bye, Shikamaru." Rin called.

"His hair reminds me of a pineapple." Kyo said with a chuckle. "Yours reminds me of a flower." He said to Sakura. "A very pretty one." Rin elbowed him in the side. "Ah-!"

"No flirting." She said as she crossed her arms. Kyo rolled his eyes as Sakura blushed.

"W-Well, I have to be going." She said. "It was nice seeing you again Rin, and it was nice meeting you two." She said before she ran off.

" _Rin_." Kyo whined. Rin ignored him and went to Naruto's room. She knocked before opening it.

"Naruto?" she asked quietly.

"Rin!" Naruto's face lit up when he saw her. "I didn't know you were here too." Rin smiled.

"Uh-huh. They sent two teams to help and ours was one of them." Kyo popped into the room.

"Hi!" he said. Naruto blinked.

"Huh?"

"Naruto, I'd like you to meet my team, Kyo Akiyama and Riku Kuroki." Rin said as the two walked in. "This is Naruto Uzumaki."

"Huh, I thought you'd be bigger." Kyo said bluntly.

"What?!"

" _Kyo_." Rin scolded.

"What, you went on and on about this guy I expected him to be taller." Kyo said with a shrug. Naruto blinked and blushed slightly.

"Anyway…" Rin said as she walked over to sit on the bed. "How are you feeling? You look pretty banged up."

"I'll be better in no time!" Naruto said with a grin. "Hey, where's Ai?"

"Oh, he stayed home this time." Rin said. "He's not exactly a fighting cat." The two chuckled.

"Hey, you wanna get some Ramen?" Naruto asked. Rin laughed.

"Naruto, you're supposed to be resting you can't just leave to get ramen." She said. Naruto chuckled and pushed two fingers together.

"Heh, yeah, I know but I'm starving." He said with a laugh.

"Maybe another time."

"How long are you staying?"

"Two days." Kyo said holding up two fingers. "Or three if you count today."

"You'll probably need more time than that to be able to get out of bed." Rin said with a frown. "Next time I come and visit we can go out, okay?" Rin asked. with a close-eyed smile. Naruto's eyes widened slightly and his face flushed.

"O-Okay." He said.

"Great. Well, we'll let you rest-"

"You're gunna come back to visit me before you leave right?" Naruto blurted out.

"Of course." Rin said with a smile. "Feel better soon, Naruto."

"See ya, pipsqueak." Kyo said.

"Hey! Who you calling Pipsqueak?!"

" _Kyo_." Rin scolded and lightly smacked his arm.

"Oh, wait, Rin!" Naruto called. Run turned around.

"Yes?"

"Uh… say hi to Gaara for me!"

"Okay, I will."

* * *

"So we're staying for two days right?" Kyo asked Temari as their two teams walked to the Inn.

"Yep."

"Three rooms or two?"

"Three, two for you boys and one for me." Temari said.

"Don't you mean you and Rin?" Kyo asked. Temari shook her head.

"I always share with Gaara." Rin said with a smile as she swung her and Gaara's intertwined hands between them.

"Share?" Kyo blinked as he looked at her. "Like you two share the bed?"

"Mhm." Rin said with a nod.

"They always share, always have; ever since they were kids." Kankurō said.

"Uh-huh." Rin said as she hugged Gaara's arm which made his face flush.

"That's adorable." Kyo teased. "I do believe you're blushing." He whispered to Gaara who immediately glared at him. Kyo only snickered.

…

"We have the room next to yours, Rin!" Kyo said as he popped his head in through the door that connected the two rooms.

" _Great_." Kankurō said in monotone. Kyo stuck his tongue out at him as he came into the room. Gaara was sitting criss cross on one bed while Kankurō sat on the other. Rin was laying on Gaara' bed with her head resting on his legs but she sat up when Kyo came in.

"I just had a great idea!" she said.

"Uh oh." Kankurō muttered. Rin stuck her tongue out at him.

"What's your idea?" Gaara asked.

"Why don't we all go out for ramen and then bring Naruto some. That's sure to cheer him up from having to stay in bed."

"That sounds like a great idea." Kyo said. "Come on puppet boy!" he said to Kankurō. "I'll get Temari." He said before slipping from the room. Kankurō jumped up.

"What did you call me!?" he shouted before going after him. Rin giggled making Gaara smile. They heard a scoff and looked to see Riku leaning in the doorway shaking his head with a small smirk.

"Will you come with us, Riku?" Rin asked. Riku nodded with a small smile. "I'm gunna make sure Kankurō doesn't kill Kyo." Rin said with a laugh before she left.

"I'm curious…" Gaara said. Riku looked over at him, seeing as he was the only other person in the room. "forgive me if… this seems rude but… why don't you ever speak?" Gaara asked before looking at Riku. Riku looked to be thinking of a response. After a moment he did speak, in a deeper voice than one would imagine him having.

"Speak only if it improves upon the silence." He said. Gaara smirked and nodded.

…

Naruto looked up as someone knocked on the door to his room.

"Naruto?"

"Rin? C-Come in!" he called. Rin opened the door and smiled at him. She noticed Jiraiya sitting in the window and blinked.

"O-Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." She said. "I could come back-"

"Nonsense!" Jiraiya said with a big smile. "Come in, come in." he motioned her to come in. "Naruto, you never told me you had a girlfriend." He teased quietly as he leaned closer to the blond. Naruto's face flushed and he was thankful for all the bandages on his face.

"Uh, this is Pervvy-Sage." Naruto said. Jiraiya looked annoyed.

"One of the Legendary Sannin." Rin said with a nod. "It's an honor to meet you, sir." Jiraiya looked smug while Naruto rolled his eyes. "Oh, Naruto, I brought you something." Rin said as she walked over to the bed. Naruto blinked in surprise.

"Huh? What'd you bring me?" he asked. Rin reached into her bag then held out a thermos. "What's in it?" Naruto asked with wide eyes as he took it. He opened it as Rin held out chopsticks for him. "Ichiraku Ramen!" Naruto's face lit up.

"I figured it would cheer you up." Rin said with a laugh as the blond proceeded to slurp noodles with a happy face. Jiraiya cleared his throat and Naruto stopped mid-slurp. He swallowed and smiled sheepishly. "Oh right, Thanks Rin."

"You're welcome." She said with a close eyed smile . Naruto's cheeks went pink. Jiraiya chuckled and winked at the boy. Naruto's eyes widened and he waved his arm, trying to tell the man to leave. Rin opened her eyes and he quickly stopped. He chuckled sheepishly.

"So, do you know when you'll next be in Konoha?"

"You should come to Suna." Rin said.

"Huh?"

"I-If you want." Rin added quickly. "I mean, you've never been right? You could stay with me; I'm sure my brother wouldn't mind giving up his room."

"Sure! I-I mean, yeah," he rubbed the back of his neck. Jiraiya chuckled.

"Well, I'd better go." Rin said as she walked over to his bedside. She leaned over to kiss him on the forehead. "Feel better soon, Naru-kun."

"Y-yeah." He had a goofy smile on his face as she walked to the door. "Thanks again, Rin." She gave him a smile before leaving.

* * *

 **A/N: Quote Riku said was by Gandhi. I just wanted to say again sorry it was so long since I updated this. Thank you to everyone who reviews  
**


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